Ratchet and Clank: Reset
by sirthursday1
Summary: At the end of everything, a wish was made. For a different set of circumstances but the same bonds of friendship to be made. When it is granted what shall change and what shall stay the same? But still even as the march of Time continues on. One thing is certain, that promise will be kept.
1. Prologue: Disclaimer

Hello and welcome to this Ratchet and Clank Fanfic

Here's the thing, I don't own Ratchet and Clank, that honor belongs to Sony, Insomniac Games.

Thus you can be sure that the events you will be reading about aren't canon and the majority of the characters likewise are

owned not by me. Likewise the universe of Ratchet and Clank including the characters have not been used with permission.

However there will be several story elements that instead belong to another author by the name of Paul G used in his Ratchet and Clank Future stories. They however have been used with permission from their owner as long they follow certain guidelines.

In any case I hope you enjoy Ratchet and Clank: Reset.


	2. Chapter 1: An Unexpected Kidnapping

Fastoon, a certain desert planet within the Polaris galaxy and the home world of a particular species called Lombaxes. They were clever feline creatures with a penchant for excitement and tinkering. One of these lombaxes an Alister Azimuth breathed deeply of the dry cool air as he strolled in or as he often protested strongly, began his 'patrol' of the nearby park of the Central Region.

Alister passed down a row of thorntrees, tall with sharp thin spines jutting out and caught a whiff of the spicy scent made by several broken thorns. The smell brought a release of tension in Alister's spine and a slight relaxing of finely honed senses. Just because that he was somewhere safe didn't mean that he should let his guard down completely. Coming back from a raid on some space pirates had set Alister's paranoia on high and for good reason.

Alister blinked and shook his head with a grimace as hard lines creased his brow as the space pirate raid brought up another issue. What could be bothering the four bolt general of the Lombax Praetorian Guard, elder councilman of the Center for Advanced Lombax Research and possible candidate for the Lombax Central Council? Though it was highly unlikely that Alister would ever willingly accept the last position in any case, just like every other minister of the Lombax Central Council.

It had to do with a certain meeting that happened a few days ago, an inventor appearing before the lombaxes with fantastical ideas and plans for new technology. The lombaxes were in dire need of something to help defend and fix the problems in the Polaris galaxy after all this time after the Great War. A conflict between the Lombaxes and one of the foulest races in the universe, Cragmites.

In any case going back to the meeting, the scientist had asked for access to the Lombax archives. This person gave forth the reasoning that by investigating in depth lombax technology, he could develop solutions to the lombaxes' problems suited to their capabilities. Alister's gut twisted, the Central Council had decided that it was too dangerous and refused the offer. The Four Bolt General on the other hand disagreed and his ears drooped. His arguments in favor of letting the inventor have some technology samples had led to a very uncomfortable and heated meeting before his last space pirate raid. Yet still Alister's belief in the scientist having the way for the lombaxes to better protect Polaris burned fiercely in the lombax.

In one particular instance of reality Alistair would go ahead with his plan to secretly give this inventor access to Fastoon's technology and that included weapon plans. Of course if he could only see what would result, the Drophyd war, the exile of the lombaxes, Polaris falling under tyranny and being forced to live with the knowledge that he caused the death of his best friend. The lombax would never go through on his plan if he knew what was to come.

However this was not that particular reality. It was then that all the fur on Alister's back suddenly stiffened. Pale white ears bearing red stripes flexed as a certain whistling sound was picked up. The lombax turned, reflexes quick on the draw by adventure after adventure pulled out his double headed Praetorian OmniWrench.. As it lengthened from its storage mode, Alister swung it. Yet the weapon cleared nothing but empty air and then the lombax felt a light bop on his stomach.

" Not bad, Mister General Alister, but you forgot something." Alister's gaze, well used to searching for anything irregular under attack saw nothing until he tilted his yellow and brown eyes down. Alister found out why his attempt to strike down his attacker had failed. His attacker was small, just barely reaching his knee but any other details were obscured by the cloak that the person was wearing. There was also the little fact that his attacker tried to use a OmniWrench on him though it was of a make that the lombax could not recognize. Alistair was about to ask just what this figure meant or even better clobber the answers out of him when the next breath he took was sweet. Sweeter than the scent of thorntree oil in the park, the smell began swirling around Alister's head, driving out all control of his limbs. Stumbling forwards, Alister moved to do something, anything before darkness tunneled into his vision. As control over his limbs wavered, the lombax found himself flashing back, back to his last argument with his closest friend.

His chest and ears burned, the ambient heat clashing with the climate controlled atmosphere made Alister shiver. He and Kaden had sent all the other lombaxes in the area scurrying over Kaden's inability to see things Alister's way. Alister's breath came out with loud rasps that echoed within the halls of the Center for Advanced Lombax Research. Why couldn't his best friend see? The inventor was their chance, perhaps the best chance for the lombaxes to find a way to help the still struggling Polaris Galaxy. With a voice cracking from the shouting he had done, Alister made one simple statement. "Don't show your face to me ever again." It repeated itself over and over again in Alister's head when he fell forward onto his face. The pain from the impact didn't reach him and as his eyes, weighted down by the gas closed. And the voice of his attacker without the hint of mockery that often came from a victor speaking to the defeated, slid gently into his ears as the fog of unconsciousness began to drown him. "There's more than one way to knock out a lombax."

Fast garbled reports flew on the airwaves reserved for official business and another lombax with the common yellow fur and brown stripes listened closely. The entire planet of Fastoon was on high alert with hover bikes zooming past and patrol drones humming through the air. General Alister had been declared missing several hours ago and there wasn't any record of him leaving the planet. The possibility of the General being attacked was the most probable. This was a highly alarming situation because who in their right mind would attack a four-bolt general? In particular the lombax in his office that was following the official comm channels was much more worried than the rest of the populace. His name was Kaden, Alistair's childhood friend.

The duo had been through many scrapes and adventures together. As a result Kaden knew Alister better than any other lombax and he could tell that this was not normal behavior for Alister. Even after that huge fight both of them had over that shifty scientist. While Kaden knew that Alister could be reckless and stubborn, his friend would never disappear under the radar like this. Unless Alister was going to defy the Council and give that inventor information from the archives.

Kaden's insides turned cold like certain nights on Fastoon in which one was thankful for every strand of fur on their body. If Alister did go against the Council's decision, his friend would be in a whole lot of trouble since such an action could be constituted as treason. Anyway the lombaxes had sent out search parties for Alister but they were having no luck in discovering his friend's whereabouts.

While Kaden himself was not part of the search operations, he no intention of leaving everything up to the guards. He had been through too much with his friend to just sit around and twiddle his thumbs in worry. However like the search parties, Kaden had no luck in discovering his friend's whereabouts. He had swept by their old haunts on Fastoon, several canyons not as vast as the one he broke his arm in while hoverbooting. The practice ranges where Alister and sometimes Kaden would vent their rages via giant explosions to innocent test dummies. Yet each place was painfully absent of one white furred block headed lombax. Kaden slumped into his chair made of quite comfortable leviathan leather.

He fiddled with several gears and other machine components. Nothing came together, not even a single humorously dangerous device that usually came with unconscious lombax tinkering. Kaden's hands shook until they stopped and he blinked considering his whim foolish. Why not go back to Alister's house? Sure it would be the first place that the guard would look but somehow the idea nagged at Kaden.

That was why Kaden had left his offiice and was now in the front of the Azimuth estate. The Azimuth family was one of the oldest names on Fastoon. They along with several other families were the closest to being called upper class among the chaotic society of the lombaxes. Sliding his thumb across the bio-lock, Kaden suddenly froze. After that argument it was entirely possible that Alister had removed Kaden from the register of people allowed in his house. However a click from the door proved him wrong and even in spite of the worry, Kaden felt a small cloak of warmth spread over his shoulders. Even after acting like a complete twat and saying that he was cutting him off, Alister still considered him a friend. Kaden shut his eyes, lines marking his brow. Yet his friend was now missing and Kaden didn't know if the white furred lombax was alright.

Kaden pushed past the heavy doors that bore a raritanium inlay, Alister always commented that it just made the entrance tacky. The empty halls of the Azimuth house echoed with his footsteps, except for the occasional cleaning bot there wasn't much of anybody within the estate. Ever since Alister's father died the place seemed to Kaden to be too quiet to be healthy. The yellow lombax, wearing a standard pilot suit called out to Alister but got no answer like he expected. After passing through several rooms, Kaden was starting to feel stupid for thinking that Alister was just sulking at home.

Kaden sighed and went into the kitchen that was nearly spotless. Mostly because Alister rarely if ever cooked and relied on take-out. In fact the few times that Alister had actually home cooked food these days was when Kaden had Alister over for dinner. Though it was Kaden's mate Cara that did all of the cooking. At first Kaden glanced over the room, everything seemed normal even as there was a surplus of take out containers in the trash. Then a blot of white on the countertop caught his attention. Kaden snatched it up and found it was a note scribbled in the Lombax language messily.

The lombax had to blink and reread over the note as some of the symbols were sloppy. Some of the bolt and wrench markings were tilted oddly or went all over the place. However Kaden wasn't a member of the Center for Advanced Lombax Research for nothing. Deciphering messy hand writing was child's play after dealing with frenzied notes jotted down in a flash of inspiration that came usually in the middle of an explosion.

The message that the note gave however was cause for worry. In the mechanical symbols of the Lombax alphabet the note flat out stated that Alistair had been kidnapped and he was now at a particular set of coordinates. Kaden had to sweat a bit as the note further went to say that Alister likely would not be harmed but the place where the general was held was definitely a trap.

There was a cheerful postscript about how the lombaxes were more than welcome to try and get Alister back. The paper crinkled as Kaden whipped out of the kitchen and began to signal for the Praetorian Guard on his comm. There wasn't a moment to lose as this was the only hint that Fastoon had on the whereabouts of their Four Bolt General. Yet Kaden ran though the information again as he relayed it to the guard. The sector that Alister was said taken to was space occupied by only space pirates due to the numerous asteroid belts and lifeless planetoids. Not exactly a place most people would live but the pirates did so since it made for an excellent place to hide. However who was responsible for this note and attack was still a mystery.

At first glance any normal person might assume that it was the space pirates that were responsible. After all the lombaxes had been stopping those criminals in their activities. Kidnapping one of their greatest military heroes would in the pirate mind give them an advantage. Not that it do anything but bring the wrath down on the pirates. The lombaxes may be individualistic but they do take care of their own. Anyway Kaden didn't come to the same conclusions as most people would have had.

For the first part there wasn't any possible way for pirate vessels to sneak into Fastoon's airspace. Not to mention the impossibility of getting away without being noticed. The second thing was that Alister was a warrior and Kaden knew his friend would never have fallen to amateurs like the space pirates. But besides these reasons, there was something to take after accounting that the note actually admitted that this was a trap. It gave information, it gave a warning of danger at the location, it was doing just about everything wrong about a ransom note. But it was the only clue that Fastoon had now, so while the Guard made its own preparations Kaden made his decision. Trap or not, he was not going to let his friend remain in danger a pico-second longer.

They had parted on shaky terms due to that blasted inventor and Kaden would never forgive himself if he never set things straight with his friend. _Hang on Alister,_ Kaden thought as he stepped out the estate and made his own preparations to join the rescue team _we're on our way._

When Alister awoke, it was to a blurry ceiling that welcomed him back from unconsciousness. Groaning a complaint about the pulsating ache in his skull, the lombax reached around for his Praetorian OmniWrench. The lights throbbed above bearing halos that grew and shrank into the general's eyes. Finally Alister's hand felt the comforting grip of his weapon. Pulling himself back up, Alister leaned his weight on his makeshift crutch. Blotting out the clashing contrast, the lombax let the seconds pass while keeping a sharp ear for any troubling sounds.

When the general could open his eyes again without feeling like falling back straight down, his gaze swept the area. Judging from the deteriorated but still operating machinery Alister guessed that this was some sort of factory. The movement of what appeared to be parts being weld or soldiered together was a large hint. The general atmosphere was surrounded with the background hum of energy motioning the construction along, though Alister was not close enough to tell or currently interested in what was being made here. The lighting which while low still caused a bit of a headache to the lombax but didn't help Alister in seeing anymore than a few meters away.

All this currently was a moot point for Alister who was trying to remember how the sprockets did he get here and where he exactly was. Clutching his head tightly but still alert, Alister thought back to all the possible reasons for why he would be here. Bar brawl? Couldn't be since even though his head hurt, it wasn't the same intensity as one of his rare hangovers. Plus there was the fact that he couldn't smell any alcohol. Captured by an enemy? Unlikely since he still had his OmniWrench on him and just about everyone knew that a Lombax with a wrench was someone to watch out for. Besides what enemy would be stupid enough to leave a weapon on a prisoner? Another practical joke by an angry Kaden fed up with him? Not a chance! Something in Alister's gut told him this wasn't the case. Though if the general found out that his tail tuft was going to be shaved off again or his fur dyed Coboltan pink, then Alister was going to have his pound of fur no matter how close they were.

Yet all these possible explanations fell short of providing a reason for Alister's current predicament. Then it struck him, the last moments before he fell unconscious, the memory of being knocked out by an unknown assailant. Thankfully nobody he knew was here to see him flush. Alister's ears burned as they folded back, he'll never hear the end of it. The Four Star General beaten by somebody barely to his kneecap.

Whatever purpose that attacker had by spiriting him away here, agonizing over it wouldn't be helping him get back to Fastoon. Going through corridors of machinery loudly rattling sent Alister's blood pumping. At first there didn't seem to be much of a problem, as the general leaped, somersaulted, climbed, and hovered throughout this facility. Yet soon the echoes of multiple footsteps came, and the lombax had to whip his head around and dive towards either higher ground or the opposite direction.

After several near misses in which Alister hung from ledges by the skin of his teeth, he found out who he had been hiding from. Space pirates, robot space pirates that normally he would wipe the floor with. However even the greenest recruit could say that Alister was outmatched as the pirates were traveling in groups. Great warrior he may be but he was still only one person and only had his Omni-wrench. Without another advantage, he'd be overwhelmed and likely killed. He had a reputation to maintain so getting caught like an idiot wasn't an option on the menu. He hit as best as he could, his highly contrasting fur not an advantage. Yet he managed and heard some disturbing pirate complaints of it taking it too long for them to prepare for their assault.

Besides taking evasive action that grated on his instincts, Alister then turned his attention to the facility he was trapped in. Being close to the construction lines many times in order to keep a low profile, the lombax's eyebrows rose as he saw just was being made by the machinery in here. Weapons, but not just any weapons, Lombax style weaponry. They may have been low-grade and hardly a threat compared to the more advanced armory that the lombaxes had but still there was the question that the pirates were able to manufacture any of this stuff at all.

Alister continued his way through the factory, looking for any convenient open windows or vents. His face was pale and his breathing rendered uneven with what he just discovered. He had to get back to Fastoon, there was trouble brewing. Alister could feel it in the tips of his fur, pirates gathering, weapons based on Lombax designs, and the overheard mutterings about when they were going to move out. Something was happening, and Alister knew that he needed to tell Fastoon even if it was the last thing he did. Yet soon his path was being blocked by numerous groups of space pirates.

While the Praetorian OmniWrench was quite useful, serving as both close combat and mid ranged weapon, he needed more options in combat. His nano-tech supply could only go so far if he engaged with the groups of space pirates he was encountering. After numerous occurrences of doubling back on himself, Alister was biting back curses, as he was getting nowhere.

Then something fell quickly in front of face. He jumped back as a sudden clank sounded in front of him, ready for an explosion or bolts being shot at him. Alister's gaze flickered down and his jaw dropped at the miracle lying there near his feet. It was a **blaster**, an honest to goodness **blaster** that fell down from the sky! Alister bent down, quickly glancing back and forth and tensing as he picked up the weapon.

A weapon, just it seemed all hope was lost, here drops just what he needed! Alister tentatively turned the handle and slid open the magazine tube afraid to look if. Yes, yes! It had **ammunition.** Only 200 shots, but still 200 more shots then he had a few seconds ago. Now he had a reasonable chance to take care of those space pirates Still the lombax gave a quick examination of the weapon and was rather surprised to see the logo for Gadgetron. Why was a weapon manufactured in the Solana Galaxy here?

Shaking his head, Alister decided for right now this was irrelevant. With the blaster, he could snipe down those pirate groups that prevented him from advancing, making the odds more even in his favor. Still he had a limited amount of ammo, so Alister taking in all possible routes noted that the most efficient path would take him higher in the factory. While normally Alister would be all for thumbing his nose at the odds, his duty to the Lombaxes took higher priority.

So he rolling and jumped higher, catching the edge of platforms and quietly boosting himself up several catwalks. With the blaster, he could take out several of the pirates that were grouped together and finish off the rest with his wrench. Blasting them with shots of negative energy or relying on a solid whack. Eventually the lombax passed by what seemed to be the main office and control room of the facility. The fact that it overlooked the factory and all catwalks seemed to radiate from it was quite a large hint.

Alister was going to skip attempting to discover any further information. He already knew that the pirates were setting up an attack and with subpar copied lombax weaponry. That was grounds enough for worry. However his already agitated stomach burned even more when he heard someone inside say. "When be we goin' to attack them Lombaxes matey?"

Alister froze and crept back to the door of the office to eavesdrop, he felt as if he was in a nightmare. Those very words brought Alister's worse fears to life as both a general and a lombax to life. And it continued to get worse as a very familiar voice answered. "I told you! As soon as one of those fool lombaxes gives us the plans to their weaponry. "

The general's grip on his Omni-wrench tightened. He had heard that voice several times in a series of presentations on how lombax technology could be furthered for the good of the galaxy. The voice belonged to the scientist with the amazing ideas and plans and just a while ago Alister thought to give that person access to the archives. Well now he wasn't but he was going to find out who had the gall to attempt to trick him and edged himself towards a window.

Alister's yellow eyes blew open and hardened. For now he could see that the voice of the scientist belonged to a Cragmite. But not just any cragmite but _**Percival Tachyon**__._ Percival was the only cragmite left in the universe. Long after the lombaxes banished the cragmites to another dimension some miners found a cragmite egg. Once it hatched the lombaxes decided to adopt the young cragmite. But it seemed that was a mistake. "Once we have the plans, we'll manufacture the weapons my army needs." Percival said.

"'n brin' below them lombaxes once 'n fer all" A robotic pirate with its modulated voice said. And then they laughed, high and cruel were the echoes that came rolling out, while Alister remained in the shadows seething in fury. Then Percival started to rant about about how his species should be ruling the universe and how he was going to enjoy watching each and every lombax die.

Alister looked down at his blaster and checked how much ammunition he had, only twenty shots left. More than enough to make sure that traitor got what he deserved. The lombax had felt nothing but chills when the cragmite had started revealing his true colors. The horrible realization came to the general of how close he came to bringing disaster to his entire race.

Still Alister drove these thoughts from his head as he found a new resolve. Narrowing his gaze to focus, he pulled out the blaster and inched into the doorway. He had almost made the biggest mistake of his life, well he'll make sure that the mistake the lombaxes made in letting the cragmite live would be rectified. Alister lined the barrel up to Tachyon's and squeezed the trigger...

It was very fortunate that they got the note and its warning after all, Kaden thought as he rammed Aphelion's controls into a sharp dive to avoid laser fire. This led to the ship scolding him with being so rough with her. Normally Kaden would have chuckled sheepishly. However losing the trio of tailing ships behind him took up most of his attention.

After all the bureaucratic necessities needed to set up a rescue attempt had been taken care of, Kaden browbeat his way into being part of the rescue squad. At first the lombax rescue team didn't expect much trouble when flying into the air space of the criminal ridden sector. Then they encountered a not a mere gang of pirates but a whole damn army. The squad of Fastoon's best would have never expected it. They would've been totally unprepared it wasn't for suspicions caused by that note's warning. As a result of that, reinforcements were called for and arrived much sooner than normal.

Kaden maneuvered through several rounds of missiles and other ships attempting to shoot him down, returning fire and launching a barrage of missles that took out several pirate fighters out of the battle. After pulling off several beautiful barrel rolls and roller coaster turns, he noticed that the majority of the ships were coming from a certain planetoid that had multiple installations built on it. It would be the most likely place where Alister would be held captive. "I'm going in." Kaden said over the communications' network. Hopefully Alister would be in there and okay.

Alister dodged another plasma blast from Tachyon's throne, his assassination attempt on the traitor was foiled by the shields that suddenly came out of the chair. The blaster wouldn't be able to pierce through the defenses and the lombax could only rely on his reflexes, his armor and his wrench. The space pirate had fled the scene fairly quickly instead of helping the cragmit. A few balls of fire came flying at the general, who hoverbooted out of the way, swinging his wrench in a comet strike in an attempt to take down the legs of the throne.

"It's too bad that I didn't get access to the archives but at least I'll have the pleasure of tearing you apart." Percival gloated from atop his battle throne. It wasn't an easy task for the general to take down the cragmite. The feet of the throne were reinforced but thankfully from one glance, Alister could tell that the actual connecting legs were very thin. It took several tries and quite a few near misses with laser bolts and drone assaults but with one mighty comet strike Alister was able to put a dangerous dent into one of the throne's legs. The throne lurched as damaged leg bent at an acute angle and with that a catastrophic malfunction occurred.

Percival's throne crumpled in on itself while the Cragmite was thrown to the ground to crawl while his throne began exploding behind him. Alister brought back out the blaster, still ten shots left in the old thing. The lombax walked slowly keeping the blaster aimed on Tachyon. "I'll get you for this Lombax! I will see you despair as you watch as I destroy your entire race." Percival said. "I am Emperor Tachyon! Ruler of the Cragmites, Ruler of the Polaris. The Cragmite Empire will rise ag-ck "

Tachyon was cut off as Alister unloaded the final clips of the blaster into his face, and the body slumped onto the floor. "No, the Cragmites will never trouble the lombaxes or the Polaris galaxy again." The Lombax said to the now cooling corpse and then Alister heard the sound of happy clapping behind him. Turning quickly around, General Azimuth raised his OmniWrench in readiness to defend himself.

His eyes widened as he spotted the individual that had knocked him out. His attacker and likely kidnapper was framed by the light coming in through the office windows. The general could not see this person's face, both because of the lighting and the cloak that he wore. "Congratulations General Azimuth. You've just saved your entire species." He said while holding a skipping pose.

Alister's eyes narrowed at these words. "What do you mean by that, and who are you?" The lombax aimed his wrench at figure framed by the window.

. "Oh? Well look around you general, think about what would have happened if you actually gave Tachyon" The figure spat out the last word "what he was looking for?"

Alister had no response to that but clenched his teeth. "You still haven't told me who you are and why you kidnapped me." The stranger was being evasive but the lombax was prepared to detain this person and get the answers he needed. All he needed was to keep this person, male perhaps from the tone of voice talking until he was sure that his negative energy blast would hit..

"Well I'm merely doing what an old new friend requested of me, and giving you what you are owed." The figure said, shifting back to two feet on the ground. Alister was about to shoot when to the general's surprise, several explosions occurred. His shock was compounded by the windows shattering, the glass shards flying into the air. In the confusion the figure fell out of the office. The lombax could only watch as the one who had the answers he was searching for disappear into the plumes of flame made by the exploding machines.

Alister rushed over to the window his throat tight with the thought of his only lead vanishing on him. Yet he saw no sign of the figure on the suddenly more dangerous lower levels. Biting back a curse, he wondered if he could hoverboot right down there after the figure when the lombax heard "Alister, Alister are you in here?"

General Azimuth had to bite back his tongue, that was Kaden's voice, how did he get here? Then it hit him, Kaden was here! Panic set in, even after standing firm in the face of death and knowledge that he could have brought doom to his race. Alister couldn't control himself at the thought of his friend in danger. "Alister! Alister can you hear me?" Kaden's voice had a terrified edge to it, much more different than the last time Alister heard it, filled with anger and hurt.

"Yeah, Kaden I'm in here" Alister said, turning away from the window with its scene of fiery mechanical destruction. Above the sounds of carnage behind him the lombax could hear the sounds of footsteps closing in on his position. Alister still raised his Praetorian OmniWrench just in case it was a trap. And then collapsing onto the door frame was Kaden breathing heavily but with eyes filled with relief at the sight of Alister safe and alive.

"Alister, you're alright?" Kaden asked and Alister retorted well he was alive wasn't he? "I'm glad" Kaden sighed and his voice trembled which was unusual to Alister's ears. The yellow lombax slowly shuffled towards Alister in the midst of the destruction surrounding them. "If those were our last words to each other, ..." He trailed off, his voice cracking a bit towards the end.

"Kaden" Alister went and cut his friend off grabbing Kaden by the shoulders. "You were right" Kaden looked confused but Alister went on "I shouldn't have trusted that inventor." His friend looked shocked as Alister he could count on his hands the number of times Alister admitted he was wrong. The general gestured towards the corpse. "Take a look" Alister said.

Kaden followed the direction in which his friend's OmniWrench pointed and doubled back who lay there dead. "Holy sprockets is that..." Alister cut in confirming that the body on the floor was the inventor that came by and also the Cragmite Percival Tachyon. The Lombax general then went about explaining what the traitor was up to, the manufacturing of weapons, the building up of an army, trying to trick technology out of the lombaxes and the Cragmite's own admittance to planning an attack on Fastoon. Kaden blinked at all of this being told to him. "Oh damn..." Kaden closed his eyes as the implications of what Alister told just sank in. If Percival attacked with lombax grade weaponry, it'll be a slaughter. Kaden shuddered as he thought about his mate and their soon to be born child. If the council didn't vote to keep their technology a secret... "Where did we go wrong with him?" Kaden gestured to Percival.

"Who knows, maybe it was finding out about what he really was. It doesn't matter anymore." Alister said. Unless there was another Cragmite egg out there, whether or not Cragmites were just naturally nasty or it was the fault of their culture would never be known. Another explosion rocked the facility and a shouted warning came over Kaden's com-link.

Kaden answered back and turned to his friend. "We better get out of here now " wincing as more explosions began rocking the place. "This place's about to blow, unless you want your tail tuft singed off, again" Alister grimaced and asked if Kaden would ever forget that little accident they -alright- he had on Phylax Gamma. Kaden smirked "Not a chance, now hurry up" Kaden dodged a suddenly dropping piece of burning debris "And let's get out of here, last one back pays up fifty hundred bolts" Kaden smirked and ran off. Alister chased after his friend, leave it to him to lighten the mood with a daredevil bet. _No matter_, Alister thought _those bolts are going to be mine!_

After the space pirate army was cleaned up, Kaden and Alister made a report to the Central Council detailing what General Azimuth found. The plans for invasion, the weapons manufacturing, the attempt to gain access to lombax technology, and the identity of the so-called inventor. Alister however kept to himself his intention to give the cragmite access to the archives. It was considered a pity in the council's general opinion that the Cragmite went to the bad. But Alister was commended for his actions in taking out the threat and commented that he was a lombax to watch for in the future.

"You know that just means you've been bumped up in the candidate list for the Central Council" Kaden laughed much to Alister's discomfort. It had been several weeks since the incident where the general was kidnapped, though leads went nowhere on who was responsible. Alister however received a commendation and a small plaque of appreciation. The two were waiting in one of the city's med-bays as Kaden's mate had just undergone labor and was now under the care of the doctors. While Kaden was worried about his mate and their unborn child, it was good to talk to his best friend again.

In any case it was commonly known that the Central Council composed of the most accomplished and experienced adventurers, general, researchers from among the Lombax population. However each and every one of those council men considered the position to be a fate worse than death. At least death was exciting! That was why various security measures were taken up, on paper for the safety of the councilors but in fact was actually to stop the members from escaping or suddenly vanishing. These same measures were applied to those who nominated for a candidacy for a council seat since every Lombax picked attempted to dodge their confirmation for the seat. This also applied to the Prime Minister after a certain amusing incident involving magnetic tape and five pounds of sprinkles.

"Ugh, don't remind me" Alister grimaced "I've been pulling out my wrench on just about every deputy I see. Thinking any one of them is the one that'll give me the bad news and slap that tracer on me." The tracer was just a anklet used to keep track of the council members 'for their own safety' but everyone knew that it was just another tool to make sure that the council members didn't skimp out of their duties. Likewise it came about due to a certain Prime Minister's actions. "So, you're going to be a father." Alister said.

This time it was Kaden's turn to look sheepish "Yeah, I've been out of my mind with worry, but it's kind of exciting as well." Then Alister asked what they were going to name the kid and Kaden let out a nervous laugh. "Heh, Cara and me have been coming up with them for a while. But still no luck" Alister raised an eyebrow and expressed his surprise and disbelief that after all this time Kaden still hadn't come up with a name for his kid by now. A genius, ace pilot with several inventions under his belt and still he couldn't come up with something for the bundle of joy that was coming into his life? Alister said that it was quite a shame. "Hey I've still got time" Just then the door to the waiting room burst open and a nurse called out for Kaden as his wife Cara had just finished delivering the baby.

"You were saying?" Alister smirked to Kaden's groan of protest as both men rushed over to where Kaden's mate and his newborn cub was. However the sight that greeted them drove all matters of joking further from their minds. Cara was holding her cub in her arms proudly with her eyes half lidded. The nurse on duty softly congratulated Kaden and told the new father that it was a boy.

Kaden carefully came up to the bed and gently laid his hand on his son, his baby cub. "Hey there," Kaden said softly since his son was currently sleeping. Cara gently moved the cub over while not disturbing the cub's slumber, leaving Kaden to hold his boy in his arms. The Lombax scientist, inventor, researcher and keeper of the Dimensionator could only stand there, throat choking and vision turning blurry. "it's me your father, you don't know how happy I am to finally hold you." The Lombax let out a short laugh and said "Sorry that I don't have a name for you yet after all this time."

"Ratchet," Alister interrupted and both Cara and Kaden turned to the Four Bolt General, temperamental hero, and one of the most unflappable leader of the Lombaxes actually looking abashed of all things. "Ratchet, I don't know why but he looks like a Ratchet."

"Ratchet," Kaden said, testing the name in his mouth. When he looked towards his mate, he saw that she was nodding her head in approval. They had been running around in circles trying to pick a name for their child but never did they agree on one until now. "Ratchet, it suits you." Kaden said looking down on his cub's sleeping face. "Welcome to the world then, Rachet Nova, my son."


	3. Chapter 2: Regift

Alister Azimuth watched as several ships soared above him, it had been eight long years since the "Tachyon Incident." With no surprise invasion from the Cragmite traitor and his robot pirate army equipped with lombax devised weaponry, Fastoon's population continued expand and advance. The tall antenna ears carefully spreading across the surface.

However the rest of the Polaris Galaxy was still crippled from the actions of the Cragmite Empire even after all these years. Still there was hope, Alister thought as his people led the reconstruction efforts and slow but surely the living standards of Polaris grew by leaps and bounds as the sign of the stylized wrench and bolt became revered by the citizens of the galaxy. Alister himself had come back from several raids harrying pirate outlaws. However the people of Fastoon had learned from the near misses of the actions of Percival Tachyon and that gathering of a space pirate army.

The Lombax Defense Ministry, which was the wing in charge of the military and law enforcement had added some new security measures to be enacted in regards to their technology and members of authority. Several of these measures had grated on Alister's nerves. The ones in particular that referenced those in the Lombax Central Council were the reason why he made sure to fill his schedule with missions away from Fastoon.

This was because to the LDM was took the security of their government, specifically the members of the Lombax Central Council very seriously. Now at first glance this would have been a prudent course of action. However most other species would be struck dumb at the revelation that the measures taken were to make sure that the Central Council members wouldn't escape from their duty.

The reason behind this required an explanation of lombax nature and behavior. As the late cragmite Percival Tachyon would had said, the typical lombax would be "noble" and "courageous" but they were also adventurous, terrifyingly curious, fiercely individualistic and chaotic to the point of insanity. As a result government in the lombax community wasn't the gigantic structure to maintain order other planets or species had. The most guidance that the lombaxes needed was someone to deal with general affairs, lead the lombaxes against any large crisis and most importantly make sure that their race doesn't blow themselves up.

This duty was fulfilled mostly by the aforementioned Lombax Central Council and in addition the Prime Minister. The foremost adventurers, generals, scientists, and administrators were chosen or more to the point recruited for the positions. Those picked however rarely went willingly since the job was rightly considered quite dull to a race nearly full of adrenaline junkies. Not to mention that focus of the meetings those days was mainly moved to dull administrative duties on reconstruction, budgets, and policy.

Sadly the tedious business of administration drove the members of the council and the prime minster to attempt to run off much to the amusement of the inhabitants of Fastoon. Of course this all tied into the unspoken task of the Council and the Prime Minister which was to make sure things were never dull around the planet as lombaxes abhorred boredom. To keep their government and entertainment in their place, the Lombax Defense Ministry had to step up efforts to keep their officials to their post. Particularly after the much talked about escape of Prime Minister Charles Neutrino, a riveting adventure that spanned eight months and involved numerous high speed chases, duels upon narrow walkways, and the required humorous incident involving a banana.

There was a much more interesting fact in Alister's estimation however . A certain Ratchet Nova, son of his best friend Kaden Nova had be turning eight today. The Nova family had been on Fastoon in the Central region to celebrate at their rarely stayed at home. Likewise the general would not miss one of his godson's birthdays. Alister sighed as he made his way down the boulevards of the Central Region. Kaden who was the closest thing like a brother to him was the keeper of the weapon and tool known as the Dimensionator. It was the ace in the hole that won the Great War in the lombaxes' favor.

However keeping the Dimensionator secret and safe while investigating alternative peaceful uses of the device had Kaden constantly on the move. The importance of this duty however left him with a difficult choice, moving his family wherever he needed to be or see his mate and son only erratically. In the end Kaden decided keeping the family together was the better choice.

Kaden's mate Cara wasn't exactly happy about the situation as well. However the lombax female often wearing a sensible dress and packing a plasma shotgun didn't protest too much for her mate's sake. This was because Kaden was not only a genius scientist and inventor but an excellent adventurer and warrior as well that normally would be snapped up for the council as soon as possible.

His role as Keeper of the Dimensionator had the perk of excluding him from conscription to that unhappy fate. Cara understood this and given between the choice of having her mate happy on while they were on the move or depressed after hours of forsaken _politics_ she would choose the former. Alister grinned at the memory of Kaden once telling him that Cara took her own payment for the situation nearly every night.

However the constant moves did take their toll and the price to be paid fell on Ratchet. The general looked at the small wrapped present, just a little starship construction kit. Alister had been told that Ratchet had a hard time making friends that he could truly connect to. Then again after several occurrences of meeting and getting to know someone else but suddenly have to go away with little to no likelihood of seeing each other again, even the most cheerful child would give up trying. Though Alister flushed as he had noticed Ratchet had been picking up some of the personality of him and those ratchet called uncles.

However the general heard that Ratchet still had ways to keep himself entertained. For one, while all lombaxes had a talent for tinkering and mechanics, Ratchet skill was quite surprising. Alister smiled at the memory when Kaden told him one day that he and Cara once came back to a nearly dismantled living room when they had left their kit alone for only a few seconds.

In any case Ratchet had even started building his own machines such as his own radio, and watched halo-net films. While the kit said he still wanted friends to connect to, he admitted that he had other things to fall back on. Eventually Alister reached the small house within one of Fastoon's numerous cliffs and rang the doorbell. He heard a young call that one was getting the door "Alister you made it!" The general watched as in the doorway was revealed a small lombax kit with shining bright green eyes.

It was moments like this that Alister was thankful that he'd never given Tachyon what he needed. As he walked in guided by Ratchet past walls showing no wear or tear they eventually made it into a small dining room. It was there that Alister was reminded that while Ratchet was lonely, he wasn't alone and it showed in the guest list of Ratchet's birthday party. Along with the heir of the Azimuth family at Ratchet's birthday was Petrov Neutrino, Reginald Solstice and Dr. Tesseract also known to Ratchet as Uncles Petrov, Reg and Sherman respectively.

The three other lombaxes were sitting down around a table with Kaden while platters of finger foods were available. From the sounds of clanking, stirring, and chatting in the kitchen it seemed that Petrov's wife Cynthia had come over as well. Cara's cooking was hit and miss, when she followed the recipe it tasted fine but when she tried to experiment. Things such as the seafood stew that send him into three days in the hospital occurred

Alister grimaced as he saw Petrov Neutrino while giving greetings to the men sitting with a hefty smack on the shoulder for Kaden. The general knew Petrov through their respective circles in the Lombax Defense Ministry. The Neutrino family was well known among the lombax community given their bravery during the conflict between the lombaxes and the cragmites. And where Petrov was, Reginald Solstice also the current Prime Minister wasn't far behind since both the Neutrino and Solstice families were extremely close ever since the Great War. Kaden's other job besides researcher and inventor had him interacting with the Prime Minister more often than most other lombaxes. Reginald was sitting there and smiling devilishly at the sight of the general coming in.

In any case Alister's reaction was because of two reasons, one was that Petrov might be here to officially snag him for the Central Council. Ever since the now Five-Bolt General had executed Percival Tachyon the adopted Cragmite traitor, he was a shoe-in to the next vacancy. For the time being he had dodged the duty by making sure that he was off planet and way too entrenched into a security conflict to be dragged into a seat. But it was only a matter of time before somebody, likely from the Lombax Defense Ministry got in a lucky ambush to bring him in. But trying to do so while it was Ratchet's birthday would be too low a blow.

The other reason may have been, if Alister admitted it, envy. Petrov had gotten quite a few distinctions serving in the Robot Space Pirate War. That would have brought him within line to be drafted to the Central Council as he rose in the ranks. However he suddenly retired and chose to take a posting out as Regional Minister for Region Nine. That however dropped him out of running for being drafted to the council. It worked for Petrov very well as he had been free from any council nominations for several months.

Dr. Tesseract on the other hand while he knew Reg and Petrov due to tutoring them once before, that was not why he was here at Ratchet's birthday party. The doctor was a family friend of the Novas through the scientific connections of Kaden. In any case that was everybody here that Alister could see and Kaden clapped "Well now let's get this party started shall we?"

Alister sat down to join everybody as Cara and Cynthia brought out the cake. After the customary embarrassing birthday song and well wishes four men went about regaling the young lombax with stories about their own adventures. Then again Dr. Tesseract, Cara and Cynthia made sure that some egos were popped when they got too big.

Yet Ratchet listened to their stories and exploits with wide eyes and ears back. Tales about enemies blasted apart, landscapes spreading below them, gadgets and devices built, weapons tested, daring plans cobbled together with nothing but a bit of magnetic tape and hope and adventures lived. Ratchet hung onto every word and asked questions of his own. The men there answered every one piling on detail after detail sprinkled with a few inside jokes. Though the older lombaxes were a little concerned about how well Ratchet understood some of the hazards of being adventurous. Asking about the best ways to conserve nano-tech, how not to get ambushed, what to do against overwhelming forces and what sort of weapons were cool and should be bought. Sometimes the kit would Hours past by like this until it was time for most of the guests to leave.

Alister felt quite warm as Ratchet expressed that it was the best birthday that he ever had. The general shook his head in amusement as he turned to leave guided by Ratchet and Kaden. However he overheard for the young Lombax the best gift that was yet to come. Kaden had taken the kit aside whispered that when they could get a chance, he'll finally give Ratchet his very own pair of hoverboots. Just before Alister went out of the door he said. "Don't forget to break a leg kid, your father does it often enough." The groan and look on Kaden's face would be something to treasure the next long boring pirate stakeout Alister had to do.

Ratchet woke up and the early morning sunlight just felt brighter as he knew it was going to be a good day. What Alister or anybody else didn't know was what Ratchet had to fall back on. It was also the reason for why he had an unusual insight. Ever since he could remember Ratchet had the most intense dreams like a halo-vid serial. They came randomly during the night but more often when he was feeling down.

Ratchet liked having those dreams and they generally followed either one of two themes. There were the exciting ones where Ratchet found himself running through desert sands, lush foliage, rocky cliffs, dealing with the oppression of being underwater, and fighting off hordes of bad guys with weapons of all sorts causing the most cool explosions ever. The feel of the heated gusts blowing his fur, the bright reds and yellows of the flames warming his skin, crackling sounds of energy that made his fur stand up and resounding booms that made his eardrums dance.

Those dreams and the feelings they had when he could remember them were quite intense and scary at times but the way that they made his heart race and his face flush more than made up for the pain that he encountered. Yes there were times in those dreams when he was hit by blaster fire, got caught near a bomb, shocked and burned and multitude of other injuries that registered enough to send him waking up with a bit of sweat in the middle of the night.

But if that was the price of the excitement he felt in every nightly adventure, he felt it was worth it. Besides the pain that he encountered in those dreams were only phantoms that left as soon as he woke up. The worse pain came from the other sort of dreams that he had, and they didn't hurt at least not physically. In those dreams there were times when he was running with a comfortable and reassuring weight on his back. Trusting in a presence that he couldn't see to keep him from falling.

Sometimes hours of vid gaming titles he'd never heard of or seen before flashed in front of Ratchet's eyes as his hands danced over his controller. While this was happening there was the weight of something on both sides to him and the movement of multiple characters on the screen instead of his. He dreamt of bright days where the sun refracted from the panes of towering crystal under a bright blue sky. Before him were two bowls of a icy treat, one directly in front of him and another further away. He enjoyed the phantom taste when he took a spoonful into his own mouth in his dream.

A cheerful voice thanking him for the ice cream as he dug in. The light taste of sugar and vanilla and chocolate warmed in his mouth refreshed him whenever he had to deal with the heat of where he was. During days of great stress Rachet dreamed being regarded by a brilliant yet cool even pair of green lights that brought a sense of comfort to the young lombax. Stilling whatever hurt that Ratchet had.

Having his hand tugged, or was it him tugging by something soft yet firmly grasping, feeling the gentle breeze past by his fur . There were scenes of half blurred faces along with him enjoying fast blurring yet peaceful days while they had them. And sometimes hearing the faint buzz of electricity and light breathing. While these dreams brought comfort of their own, they still were painful in a different way for while the feelings of companionship Ratchet wanted were real they still only came in dreams. The lombax shook his head and remembered the other reason why he felt today was going to be good.

Ratchet's ears quivered as today was the day that his father promised to give him his own pair of hoverboots. It had taken a while to find an excuse that his dad could use to give his son his gift as Cara disapproved of those things. As much as she loved Kaden. She had seen her mate nearly always come back in bruises and scratches and wouldn't have her son undergo that.

So Kaden was going to disguise the trip as part of Ratchet's homework assignment. Ratchet had to collect some biological samples of the local flora. To further mask their real intentions, Dr Tesseract would be invited along. It would also give Kaden and Dr Tesseract the chance to further discuss some revolutionary ideas to advance science in the lombax community. In any case Cara relented in allowing the men out to give Ratchet help on his homework though it was with a half smile on her face.

The Novas and Dr. Tesseract went quite a distance from the Central Region of Fastoon, the better to not run into Cara for whatever strange coincidence that could happen. Ratchet bouncing all the way there was given several pointers and hints on how to use hoverboots. It was only then that the young lombax was given the footwear and under close supervision, allowed to try them out first. When Ratchet had the basic skills down adequately enough, Kaden allowed his son time alone to explore, and to get that homework assignment done. That time was surprisingly long as Ratchet picked up on the basics extremely quickly managing to leap between walls on his first try. Dr. Tesseract actually had a small grin as he elbowed Kaden in the side at the sight while Kaden flushed.

The surrounding area was quite safe and cleared regularly of any hazards. In any case, if Ratchet was in trouble the boy could call his father on the comm-link. Ratchet, freed to explore raced to and fro, enjoying the wind caressing his facial fur, whipping his ears around and his tail dangling behind him. The rush of the stone formations being a blur as he sped past them. He went around picking small samples of plants for his homework and storing them, testing out the new transdimensional storage units that Fastoon were experimenting with.

He was finishing up collecting the last of the samples when the hairs on the back on his head prickled. Ratchet turned around quickly ready to jet himself out of there if there was trouble. He then flushed under his fur at the sight of what startled him.

It was some little guy sitting there looking off into the distance, wearing what seemed to be a cloak that covered his face. "Hey there, what's ya doing?" Ratchet said. The young lombax's voice startled the person turning away from a view of Central Region, the sun now casting long shadows across the cliffs and rocks that now had the color of flames. It looked at him with a tilted head at first.

"Oh, just looking down at the city. It's much nicer like this don't you think?" The person, just a little bit shorter than Ratchet's said, just whispering his last thought. This stranger didn't seem to be really paying attention looking down on the ground. "Sorry, I bothered you" The stranger that was cloaked said and turned his face up.

He, Ratchet guessed from the stranger's voice seemed to trail off in saying sorry. Probably because he didn't know who he was saying sorry to. So the lombax told him his name. "Name's Ratchet, Ratchet Nova" the lombax boy said holding his fist up and grinning.

But once he said this the cloaked guy choked ,coughing into his arm. Ratchet asked what was wrong and the stranger shook his head and spoke again though to Ratchet's ears it seemed the stranger's tone got tighter. The breath taken short and harsh "No-th-hing It's just nice."

Ratchet cut in asking just what was nice with all the innocence of youth? It was strange enough for a person to say that after coughing fiercely and that voice, while the lombax was sure he'd never heard it before was hauntingly familiar and he just had the passing thought to pat the guy on the head for whatever strange reason. "Oh, ah your shoes, they're nice, ah hoverboots right?"

The lombax beamed, digging one heel out in front of him and shaking it into the dirt. "Yeah, you got that right, dad made them for me since I just turned eight." Ratchet bumped a fist into his chest. "Dad said he's never seen somebody as get good as me so fast" The top stranger's hood moved forward angling towards him. "Hey whattaya doing 'ere anyway?" The lombax kit said.

The cloaked guy tucked his head down then back up. "I... dropped something, over there," pointing over to a plateau choked by some weeds and the occasional pile of metallic refuse. Quite a challenge to get over if one didn't have the ability to glide. The stranger scratched at his hood and his words wavered more "and I don't want to leave it there..."

Ratchet smirked "Hey, leave it to me" he said. Spotting a ledge above him, with a lot of jutting hand and foot holds underneath he started to climb. Straining over cliff edges and digging his soles into some gaps in the wall. Reaching the top, Ratchet jumped off and glided with his hoverboots. Nothing but a light woosh through his fur as the other side of the gap slowly approached his feet.

There wasn't much except piles of rock, some shrubbery, bolts that one way or another made their way here. "Did you really drop something here?" Ratchet shouted back over the gap. The answer was a faint affrimative. The lombax looked closer, digging behind some scorched ship side plates, around some mechanisms gleaming in the early evening light, rustling around the leafless bushes, when he carefully searched under the single thorntree in the area, he found possibly the only thing of interest. Ratchet's ears perked at the sight of it, then quickly attached the thing to a belt on the pilot pants he was wearing. The gap was still the same size but across was a sizable ledge below. Making his way from the edge, then a running leap had Ratchet back in front of the stranger.

He then took out a large wrench and waved it. "This what you dropped?" Ratchet asked weighting the heft of the thing that fitted snugly within his grip. "What're ya doing with a wrench anyway? Seems pretty good make also" The lombax glanced further at it and saw the Gadgetron icon and the number 8000 printed along the handle

The stranger clasped his hands behind his back, his whole body swaying sending ripples through what he wore.. "Yeah it is, someone gave to me because at the time I needed it. You have one?" Ratchet had to shake his head at that. He wanted a wrench so much but Kaden or more to the point Cara didn't want to come back home to see everything in their house completely dismantled ever since that little incident with the living room.

"Well, do you want it?" The lombax took a step back, while the wrench was worn in places, it still was quite the nice tool. It didn't seem like the kind of thing that somebody would just give away and it showed with Ratchet's open mouth and wide eyes. "I kept it for the memories but the one who gave it to me would be happier if it was used like it should be " The stranger said as the dirt suddenly became extremely interesting and the stranger wasn't looking at the lombax in the face.

Ratchet looked back at the wrench then the stranger for several times. On the one hand it was a good wrench, on the other it wasn't as if the stranger was giving it to him. After all he found it and the person who owned it didn't want it back, so he could have it. It was basic childhood logic but it was good enough for Ratchet. He wanted a wrench of his own that badly.

"It's getting dark out here, I'd better go, shouldn't you too" The stranger said. Ratchet blinked as the rock cliffs, once full of warmth died down to deep purples. He took a step back heading towards where his father and Uncle Sherman was. Yet the weight of the wrench throwing off his stride suddenly reminded him of just what he was about to do.

The lombax's met the hood of the stranger who shrugged at the question that ratchet had. "If you don't want it then you can just leave it here." A moment or so Ratchet ran off, hoverboots blazing after giving a brief thanks, swinging the wrench again and again into rusted crates and rocks as he headed towards his father and uncle. Shouts pierced the air dying away with distance and drowning out a small whirr and a click. Soon all that was left was a impression of footprints upon the dusty ground.

Courage, compassion, dashing good looks Iron-hard abs! Buckets of charisma mixed with a brilliant tactical mind to boot and not to mention these massive guns. These were all the qualities of a hero and I, Copernicus Leslie Qwark had all these things in spades. But the hero business just had been slim pickings those days even with my winning million bolt smile. And I'll tell you just why it's so hard, those lombaxes!

Not that I Captain Qwark have anything to be jealous about. No sir, it just everywhere they go they have to be all noble foiling evil schemes. I know it's not their fault. The villains were all asking for it, those evil doers going about attacking those lombaxes, at least they got to find out that those little furballs were quite trigger happy. But still you'd think that those furry guys would stay in their own galaxy and leave something for us heroes to do. I mean how else would I be able to take the credit for any hero work when they always STEAL the show like that? Actually getting anybody to want me to endorse them seemed like a lost cause in those days. I've been seeing if several studios have been interested in those years of mine. So anyway week after week of failure in the hero biz and it seemed eventually I'd have to throw in the towel and either join up with Thugs-4-Less or even -Gasp- move back in with my monkey family. Mother would throw a -well you know-

There was somebody I'd have to thank for my current fame however, a certain person I'd like to call my Benefactor. I met him just when I was about to give up completely on the hero business. There I was, about to get on the cheap shuttle that would take me back to Florana when suddenly out of nowhere, my Benefactor pops up in his that funny cloak of his like one of those little old men mentors you see on those holo-films. I normally wouldn't tell you this but I'll always remember the first thing he said to me. He believed that even though I might go about it for the wrong reasons, and maybe make a ton of mistakes along the way, he knew I could be a true hero and perhaps a very good friend as well. He then went about getting me sponsored with my own radio show, cereal sales, action figures, even my own books! Though how he had an in with the newly taken over Vox Industries I'll never know.

I'll never forget his training either. After dealing with a certain nerd from my old high school and his attempt to take over the city, watch the nearest vid-comic dealer near you to experience how it is to be a true hero, my Benefactor came back up to me again to congratulate me... and maybe also noted that I make sure that I'll never commit the crime of denying the universe this handsome chin and these abs. Well what could I say to that? How would the galaxy go on without this handsome face and strong bod watching over it? He then asked me, what would I deny the universe my chin and abs for? Well, actually I didn't know what to tell him. But he said that he'll help me to not have to think too hard about that question. Little did I know just what he meant by that. After that, heh I'm proud to say he taught me several useful skills to make sure that that all evildoers will be brought to justice by me! Just wish that it didn't have to take so long dodging all those Tesla bolts and Devastator shots. Well anyway that was the last time I saw my mentor again, though he did tell me to be careful of endorsement deals. But hey, who am I to deny anybody the lovely sight of my face? Well that's all the time I have for you today. Catch you later citizen.


	4. Chapter 3: Recycling Punchlines

The Great Clock, a miracle of science and sorcery, built in the Breegus system and located in the exact center of the Universe! Give or take sixty feet from the last estimation. Its purpose was to regulate and maintain the flow of time, badly broken by an unfortunate incident in which 83 celestial entities were wiped out. The clock would ensure that the universe would not be destroyed in another such disaster, the ultimate contingency plan for when the Valkyries bellow out the Grathorian folk music. In any case the clock, built by the strange interdimensional energy beings known as the Zoni was maintained and taken care of by them, their leader and one single robot. This single robot was Sigma0426A, also known as Sigmund and on one particular day something very interesting happened to him in the Great Clock.

Moving through the halls and platforms of one of the largest and most complex machines in the universe was a single red cleaning and maintenance robot. He was in the middle of adjusting some of the dials on several particular large pieces of machinery dodging past some large electrical arcs that had appeared more recently. Keeping watch over the meter needles, the swaying motion reflected the unease in his own circuits. The former lowly cleaning robot, now junior caretaker of the Great Clock worried about his boss and friend. Orvus the senior Caretaker of the Great Clock, leader of the Zoni and the one who gave Sigmund the chance to be free from his former job at the prison planet Viceron wasn't being like his usual self.

Orvus normally was always full of good humor and he shared the loose focus that all Zoni had, however Sigmund had noticed lately that Orvus had been quite serious and dare he say it, actually stressed during the rare times that he saw his boss recently. Several weeks had passed since Orvus had holed himself up in the chamber named after him with the Zoni leader only coming out for one small thing or another. To Sigmund, it seemed like Orvus was in the middle of some great project, well befitting the current senior caretaker of the Great Clock. The robot judged that this must be so from the constant power diversions that he had to monitor that only came when Orvus was on the cusp of some great realization of genius.

Yet Sigmund was at the end of his rope with worry in regard to whatever it was that had what was just about his only friend occupied. The red robot went to go about another one of his rounds around the clock, maintenance was never done of course!. Several gears had halted, grinding out a ticking that went completely out of rhythm to the rest of the machine as those gears went back and forth between two teeth. Hovering around and actually digging into the gaps between gears, Sigmund could see that it was the same problem as always. Reaching into his body, he fetched a clamp and aimed it into the troublesome spots. Each and every time, he clutched the arms of the tools tightly and pulled out giggling and spinning Zonis out from the gears. Sigmund huffed when the gears began moving again, it was like the energy beings were addicted to getting stuck in the most oddest places. He just had enough of getting out the Zoni from wherever they've gotten stuck for the last time when he was worrying about Orvus. Sigmund went chasing after the disoriented energy beings cheerfully going "Wheee!", intent on giving them a scolding. Even though it was assured that they wouldn't pay a single bit of attention to his words at all. The robot's chase eventually passed by the most important location of the clock, the Orvus chamber when the ornate doors suddenly burst open.

"I've done it! I've done it!" Orvus came out flying around in erratic circles while the rest of the zoni floated out their leader's flight path, quietly standing back. "Sigmund!" Orvus stopped right above the robot's head constantly laughing his own gentle laugh that never had even a hint of ill will. "It may have been tricky but I managed to do it!" All the while, the red robot noted that in spite of Orvus's chaotic flight pattern, the zoni remained upright and kept his hands enclosed on something that seemed small and possibly fragile due to the care that was being given.

"What sir, what?" Sigmund said, wondering just what could have Orvus have come up with this time. While his boss often came up with many useful and ingenious ideas such as the Great Clock and the mnemonic chambers, occasionally ideas like a quantum powered vacuum somehow found its way into Orvus' head. Sigmund still wasn't sure if the dust he cleaned up was actually there or not when he emptied the vacuum bag. The Zoni floated down to Sigmund's ocular sensors and opened up his hands to show a tiny spark of green light. While the red cylindrical robot had the utmost respect for his boss and friend , Sigmund couldn't help a hint of confusion enter his voice. "Oh sir, a night light?" Sigmund guessed.

Orvus gave that little chuckle of his at Sigmund's answer. It was a guilty pleasure that Orvus took each and every time Sigmund took that puzzled look of his. It was much better than the constant panicking the robot normally had while working under him in the Great Clock or the withdrawn behavior that the Zoni observed the cleaning and maintenance bot had when working on planet Viceron. Orvus shook his head, he needed to let Sigmund grow into some confidence one of these cycles, the junior caretaker did good work.. "A good guess but no, Sigmund meet my son." Orvus said holding out the small green light in his hands closer to Sigmund.

Sigmund paused as the words rattled around his auditory sensors echoing within a mind full of sprockets and cartoons until they flicked on a certain set of switches. Ones that if labeled for the curious and inquiring would say panic and be overjoyed. The red robot exploded as various implements installed in his chassis including for some reason a cuckoo clock hung out from various arms as he ran around making various exclamations. Sigmund collected himself barely and bent over to the small light in Orvus' hands, what could he say to the son of his boss? "Hey there little guy." Sigmund internal mechanisms winced, not the best thing to say to perhaps your new boss in the future. The small green light flickered in response.

"Actually Sigmund my son or XJ-0461 as he will be eventually be called, can't hear you. He actually hasn't been born yet, this is his soul." Orvus said and then sighed. "And it'll be quite a while before he can join us here at the Great Clock." Several Zoni came hovering and possibly for the first time, the red robot heard something else besides the normal excitement from the energy beings. For a while there was silence except for the comforting murmurings from the Zoni to their leader.

Then the cleaning and maintenance robot tilted his head "But sir, you've always wanted a son to take over the Clock for you." It was a topic that Orvus had always mentioned about, after all the Zoni had said that the true owner of the Clock wasn't him but the one who would come after him. Of course the constant mentions from Orvus about always wanting a son had nothing to do with the robot's guess, no sir. "Why wouldn't he be able to join us here?" The robot waved his arms about, "and wait what do you mean he hasn't been born yet and isn't that a robot designation?."

Orvus sighed as he sheltered XJ's soul in his hands "There is a robot overseer on a planet named Quartu in the Solana galaxy. She is in charge of the manufacture of giant robot soldiers and sentries for Blarg Industries. However she is aware of the leader of the Blargs, Chairman Drek's foul plan." At this Orvus's face usually tranquil except for the times when amused at a good awful joke hardened slightly. "The Chairman after despoiling his people's own planet is now ripping apart the Solana galaxy in order to create another, all for the sake of cash. Soon the overseer will alter the specifications of one robot, built to rebel and foil Drek's plan."

A sad shake of the head followed "But that would not be enough. Even if the altered programming takes root, a Blarg override command would trigger once that chassis leaves the conveyor belt. The robot would have its will stripped from it and be forced to report her to the Blarg." Then Orvus hands rose to present the small light steadily glowing. "But with the freedom granted by a soul, both influences will have no power over him and he can act according to his own nature, his own decisions. He would go stop Chairman Drek because of his own choices and that would have more meaning."

Sigmund started nodding but then blinked. "But sir, that still doesn't make sense. Why were you in such a rush then? I mean stopping something as bad as planets being torn apart is pretty important." The robot went and rubbed the back of his head. "But you've been well," Sigmund shrugged while waving his palms about, then enlightenment dawned on the often dark celestial entity that was Sigmund as he shifted his face and posture into a pose worthy of being immortalized in marble.

"Ah yes, I have been quite startling of late haven't I? "Orvus said regaining some of his good humor. The Zoni looked out towards the windows that revealed the universe in all its vastness. A look that Sigmund had never seen on Orvus' face before captivated the cleaning robot's attention. A quick questioning "sir?" caused Orvus to turn back from whatever thoughts, deep as they were that was occupying his brain. "Oh sorry Sigmund, it's just that my need to rush came about because that Chairman Drek's plan caught me by surprise."

Sigmund was silent at this admission and further questioned his boss for didn't the Zoni exist in a different relation to time? The robot couldn't even begin to count of all the times Orvus knew of things that had yet to happen. In that case how would Orvus be rushed by what Chairman Drek was doing? Orvus gave another little laugh "Oh Sigmund you give me too much credit. The universe is full of surprises, I don't know everything, even I can be caught off guard." Orvus' face softened and a hint of wistfulness entered his voice. "In any case, it will be nice to see that child again."

On the planet Quartu in the Solana Galaxy the glow of energy barriers filled the near constant night around the Blarg factory as the process of churning out various sentry bots and other militant robots continued. Inside said factory there is no one organic except for one small intruder in a soft cloak pacing back and forth with hands twitching all the while. The normal sentry bots within the factory didn't notice him at all as he paced in front of the main computer where the conveyor belt that dropped out the finished robots was. To a very select group of people found in the Shadow Sector of the Solana galaxy, they would recognize this person as the new chairman and president of Vox Industries.

This person's thoughts were that things were moving too quickly. Executive Chairman Drek had started the planet robbing plan two years too early. To the person that was pacing undetected and unseen in the factory, he considered it his fault. Chairman Gleeman Vox was just as much as a slimeball as Chairman Drek but under better security detail. There was only a slight window of opportunity to be able to rid the universe of this menace. It was rather simple really and a testament to how the universe loves to play dice. After all with the substandard safety protocols that Vox had for his company, it wasn't really a wonder that the railing broke and dumped the chairman into one of the glue boiling vats at the Grand Opening of the third Slugha gluemaking factory.

But no, he couldn't have leave the company alone after that, for all one of the board members might actually take over and become a worse chairman than Vox. So he, the one who changed the route of Vox's tour not in the predetermined path that actually had all the safety features but one that ended up with Vox taking a dive, took over Vox Industries. Well actually if the new president of Vox Industries admitted to himself, it was more like he was shanghaied into the job. He still wasn't sure how it happened in the first place all those memories blurred with his panic over what to do after killing Vox. It did provide a source of income for the new chairman's activities and he had policies changed within the company that would more focus on turning the Shadow sector into a better place to live. Strangely enough the new management worked in spite of the grumbling of the board members as Vox Industries grew by leaps and bounds with a reputable image as well. What with actual safety testing and principles aimed towards quality the company's products began to spread from the Shadow sector of Solana and people actually started to emigrate willingly to what was once the most wretched hive of scum and villainy in the galaxy.

This did however have unexpected consequences and the biggest one was that Vox Industries had become a viable and very profitable competitor within the Solana market. Gadgetron in response had stepped up research and development and with its own reputation built over long years of quality service gained a large following within Solana. However on the other hand between Gadgetron and Vox seizing up the market, it meant that the company called Blarg Industries took a nosedive. The company owned by the Blargg was not doing well in recent years because they've always been known for dangerous and low-quality products. It had only kept itself afloat as the cheaper alternative to Gadgetron's quality.

Yet with the introduction of Vox into the galaxy, the hand of Executive Chairman Drek lost its only advantage in the market. In order to keep being viable, the company went ahead and underwent more dangerous and ludicrous research and in turn stepping up production faster then ever. That however was the biggest problem in the new Vox chairman's view. In order to step up this production, the Blarg Planet Orixon had been drained faster of its resources and polluted further as the factories and refineries worked overtime. The planet, now a horrid amoeboid green became much more inhospitable forcing the Blargs to engage in a mass exodus.

Now Executive Chairman Drek's plan was already in progress and of course the profit minded little son of a Cragmite would be all set to ruin that one once he was done and start the process over again. He would be stopped eventually except for one little problem. While one player in the drama yet to come was already in place but there was a problem with the other one. Strangely enough, it seemed the more things changed, the more things stayed the same but it still didn't change the fact that the one that would start everything hadn't been born yet. Furthermore he couldn't be born because the factor that would make that person what he was, was in the hands of other people. He could delay the manufacture of the certain body that this other special person would reside in but he could do nothing about the actual piece that would make that person the way he was.

In any case, the Vox chairman was thinking about how to further delay his rival and enemy Drek when he was startled by a sudden voice. "Hello there, child." It was voice that the small chairman had never expected to hear ever again. Well actually he realized that the way things were, he did have a chance but he was so caught up in what he was doing that he never gave much thought to this actually happening.

The Vox chairman turned around and gazed above at a welcome sight. In a cracked voice said "Hello again, Orvus" Big green eyes watered slightly at the sight of the Zoni leader ."It's nice to be able to see you again." The wringing hands with white fur went behind the tiny cloaked being's back. The fabric shimmered under the light but there didn't seem to be any pattern on it.

"You're looking well, up and about are you?" Orvus said, though there was a strange wrinkle in the Zoni's brow at the sight of the person in front of him. The question had no harshness in it and the gaze the Zoni had was made with soft blue eyes as Orvus held his son's soul in his hands. Not a single sentry or security robot noticed the two within the room even after all this time.

"Yes, I have certain people to thank for that" The child said looking straight at the Creator of the Great Clock "But I could never resent what they've done" The gaze between the two broken off by the one on the ground. "Even if it ended up as it did at the end." The chairman of Vox Industries blinked and turned back to Orvus. "I guess you're here to do what you need to do, right?"

Orvus laughed, a sound that to the child before the Zoni, never expected to ever hear. Having very few things to feel good about, the child welcomed the sound that echoed around the chamber. "Of course! And well haven't you been busy then?" At the other being's nods, Orvus looked to the conveyor belt, ceaselessly dumping out large and sadly rather dull sentry bots. "From the fact that you are here and that the robotic overseer hasn't been replaced. I suppose you might have had a hand in why the body that my son will be in hasn't left the conveyor belt all this time?"

The Vox chairman looked abashed as much that could be seen through the hood of his cloak as he pulled it down further over his head. Though he still confirmed that yes he was the reason for why the specially devised body by the robot overseer hadn't been yet manufactured. "But now that you're here, I can drop the program right?" At Orvus' yes, the chairman went over to a console and deactivated the program that prevented a certain altered robot from being constructed. The rattling of gears and pistons echoed throughout the halls as the factory built a robot not according to the standard specifications. As the new robot dropped onto the conveyer belt, Orvus wound up in a pose he had often heard of used in that game called baseball. The Zoni let the glowing ball of light loose and set forth his son onto his destiny.

On the screen of the robot overseer of the Quartu factory, a schematic of a normal large sentry bot appeared and was summarily crossed out. With an erroneous beep, a small robot instead tumbled out of the conveyor belt. Shaking his head at his rough entry into the world, this new robot took in his surroundings with his visual sensors for the first time. Across from him among the chamber's green tinted windows and stalled ventilation fans was what his pre-installed database told him was an info-bot. It expanded into a larger screen and the little robot watched in horror the atrocity being committed before his very optics. A sudden set of clunking sounds drew the little robot's attention and he saw that one of his properly programmed brethren come up likely to put an end to him. Seizing the info-bot and storing it inside him, the little robot dodged the sentry's rather clumsy grab at him. Dashing between two pillar like legs. The son of Orvus tumbled and slid down one long exit pipe right into the seat of a conveniently placed jet parked outside. Recovering quickly, the robot launched the jet bringing down its roof and gaining altitude. He didn't care where it was going as long as it was away from here. As his jet left the planet he began to tailed by two other sentry bots in similar jets. The chase was on.

Meanwhile on the planet Veldin tuneless whistling came from a certain lombax as he tightened several bolts on the project he had been working on for several years. Ratchet Nova, in Veldin work jeans, chest harness and rather large gloves had been living on the planet ever since the lombax race had wanted to have a small presence within the galaxy which was named Solana. Veldin was a planet very close to Fastoon's climate and geography and it was the perfect place where the lombaxes could set up an embassy. His father Kaden had been stationed here partly to perform some research at the facility here and partly because he was entrusted with the task of being the emergency escape plan with the Dimensionator that he was still in charge of. Not that many people knew of the second part as the identity of the keeper was a secret that only the Council, the Prime Minister and several high ranking members of the Lombax Defense Ministry knew of.

While it was a new experience for Ratchet, staying in one place for a period longer than several months still didn't help him any in the friend department. There were few if any of his age group that he actually knew, as childhood often ended very quickly on Veldin. Life on this desert like planet especially in the area of the Kyzil Plateau far from the oceans required its people to grow up quickly, though interaction with the lombaxes was improving the standards of living. With the fact that the lombax was also an alien to the residents of Veldin and the other lombaxes here busy with work anyway, things barely changed in the social aspect of his life.

Of course there was one exception and that was a Veldin couple that he gotten quite close to and had helped him immensely in setting up this mechanic's shop. It was an actual useful business here, a repair shop for both ships and minor appliances located in a rather spacious garage. The nice canid looking couple that insisted on him calling them Aunt Millie and Uncle Cog had rented the space out to him for cheap. To Ratchet it became something like a home away from home, giving his parents much needed 'alone' time. After all he was still a teenager and very few teenagers, even ones with few inhibitions about the body as the lombaxes, liked the idea of their parents getting up to some 'fun' in the bedroom.

Thinking back on the relationship he had with Aunt Millie and Uncle Cog, he was reminded of that terrible day where he nearly lost them. It had started on a bright sunny day in Veldin with the sky tinged bright blue and the moon still visible. Ratchet had been staying at the home of the two Veldin natives since Kaden and Cara didn't wish to leave their son alone. While the lombax kit was only ten years old, he could still get into a lot of mischief without adult supervision and taking things apart at the lombax embassy while understandable by those living there, wasn't something that was preferred. However everybody else in the lombax embassy was busy with their own projects and the rest of the Veldin population was rather wary of the strangers from Fastoon. Cogswell and Millicent on the other hand were happy to look after Ratchet while Kaden and Cara worked. The two had wanted children from their own but couldn't at the moment. Still they did treat the boy almost as if he was their own son. It was nearly time when Kaden picked Ratchet up but Aunt Millie brought out some of her dried fruit biscuits. Ratchet with his legs dangling above the floor "Now you can only have two Ratchet dear, you have to eat when you get home."

Ratchet beamed with perked ears, as he reached over to the plate that Aunt Millie set down. His small yellow furred self stretching across the table with his knees on the seat "Thank you Aunt Millie" he said as he chomped down on the biscuit, the flaky bread meshing well with the shocking sweetness from the dried fruit. The sound of coughing brought the lombax out of his enjoyment of the treat. Aunt Millie was coughing heavily into her hand, her brown rust colored fur seeming rather dull. "Aunt Millie what's wrong?"

"Mills you okay?" Uncle Cog came up to his wife hold her shoulder and that's when Ratchet noticed that the brighter red furred canid had dark spots under his eyes. Uncle Cog looked back to Ratchet, "Don't worry, we've been feeling a bit tired sometimes. Got a bit of heavy duty work these few days. It'll pass." Ratchet nodded at this taking the man at his word and went back to finish off that other biscuit. While he was doing this, he saw Uncle Cog gently guide Aunt Millie over to the kitchen for some water he supposed. His ears flickered as he heard the coughing stop for a moment, then return even stronger. Ratchet dropped his biscuit when it seemed like Uncle Cog was coughing as well with both of the two actually making very pained rasping noises.

The lombax had jumped off from the chair, letting it clatter behind him as he ran into the kitchen. Then a harsh copper scent assaulted his noise clashing with the mix of flour and motor oil in the house. Red had spilled onto the floor as Aunt Millie had collapsed onto it, with smudges of blood still on her muzzle. Uncle Cog had slumped down onto the side of a counter clutching his side and wincing as he too coughed harshly enough to send droplets of blood and bubbles splattering in patterns on the pale white tiled floor. The canid looked up and met Ratchet's eyes and tried to call out his name in a soothing tone but broke down into a further round of hacking out in pain.

Ratchet's breathing became short and unsteady as he fumbled into his pockets. Everything became a blur to the small boy's green eyes but his hands clasped onto the reassuring shape of a communicator. His mother had left it with him just in case, Ratchet felt like wanting to talk to his parents. Flicking on the switch only by touch, the beeping sound of connecting to his father's comm-unit never seemed so slow before. Yet his father's voice crackled out of the device. "Ratchet? I'm nearly to Cogs and Millie's house, what's wrong can't wait to get home? Mom's making-"

"DAD! Aunt Millie and Uncle Cogs fell down! They've been coughing up blood. Please get help! I don't know what to do, they aren't moving." Ratchet blurted out as he dropped the unit on the floor when Uncle Cogs slumped down face first. The short lombax was almost crushed under the dead weight of the larger Veldin native but managed to lean Uncle Cog upright against the counter. Ratchet's mind raced, he never experienced anything like this before, well something flickered through his head and he just had a thought. Aunt Millie wouldn't be able to breath in her own blood. He went to gently move Aunt Millie out from the puddle beneath her that now was exceedingly harsh in smell. Ratchet worked carefully and grabbing a clean towel, wet it to clean his watchers' muzzles. A sudden flash from a teleport pad appeared, and Ratchet turned to see his father Kaden standing there with some of the lombax medical team from the embassy. As the head medic sent out orders, Kaden rushed over to Ratchet and wrapped the boy in a strong embrace.

Ratchet flushed as he came to that part of the memory, as he had cried into dad's shoulder as his father had murmured words that the two canids would be alright. It was much later after Ratchet had asked after the two that he had learned that had been sick with Genetic Breakdown Disease. At the time he really didn't understand it but was told that it was when the body went and tried to kill itself. It was a simple enough explanation for a ten year old. Normally it would have been a death sentence on Veldin as medical technology even advanced as it was on the planet could do nothing to ease the pain of passing.

However recently on Veldin a specialized type of treatment had been developed. It used the theory that when one used teleporters, one could filter what was actually moved. So by filtering the parts of the body infected with the disease and leaving them behind while teleporting the person, one could cure the disease. However at the moment the only people skilled enough and necessary equipment to perform the surgery were located all on Fastoon. When Ratchet found out, he recalled almost breaking into tears again and tried to hold it together by adjusting some more fuses in the engine. The days after that were troubled and it followed into Ratchet's sleep, having horrible nightmares where he went to wake up Uncle Cog and Aunt Millie. Yet finding out that their bodies were cold and still, not responding to his voice crying out for them to wake up. To stop sleeping, after all didn't they have work to do? But both Aunt Millie and Uncle Cog remained unmoving in that dream that reoccurred night after night. It had gotten to the point that Ratchet would stay up all night refusing to sleep. Of course that just ended up with him dozing off and having that nightmare follow him into the daylight hours. That was why it came to a relief, Ratchet recalled when he was told that the couple would be alright.

Lombaxes wouldn't leave a wrong remain if they could do something about it. Kaden got authorization to transport Cogswell and Millicent to Fastoon for them to be treated there. All this, the lombaxes did without asking anything in return. The surgery went off without a hitch though there was a rough start to the treatment in which both natives from Veldin had to nursed into a better condition for the filter surgery. In the end however when the couple returned home, they were extremely grateful that the lombaxes saved their lives and moved to have the natives become more accepting of those from Fastoon. The two spread their story and the customers of their business, friends and family. Their networking tactics worked and the lombaxes could more easily mingle among those on Veldin after their work was done.

For Ratchet the first thing that he did when Aunt Millie and Uncle Cog returned was to hug them tightly and not letting go for a good while, not a strong grip as Cogswell commented but well meant. As for the couple themselves, they had a special place in their hearts for the young lombax that helped saved them. That was why when after being complimented on his mechanical skills and wanting to set up his own business, the couple let Ratchet rent out their garage at a price far below what it was actually worth. Though to tell the truth they actually wanted to let Ratchet set up in there for free. However Ratchet wouldn't let them do that and so they ended up with Ratchet paying rent for his sake. He actually had a sizable following as what was brought to him always came working far better than when it was new. His customers didn't know it but Ratchet actually had to restrain himself somewhat from adding such options such as ultraviolet headlights or triple isotope-powered engines.

In any case the project Ratchet had been working on was building his own ship from scrap parts. It was something of a minor bet between him and Uncle Petrov and the ante? It was Uncle Petrov never calling Ratchet Tiny ever again and if Kaden's son lost he'll never be able to complain about it ever again. Not even if he got that growth spurt he was holding out for. Thus Ratchet over the years had gathered nearly all the parts he needed from the ship junkyards and any odds and ends from appliances that bit the dust. As he made the last final adjustments to the ship, his stomach warmed in anticipation. Soon all those long hours would be worth it, never having to hear being called Tiny again and hopefully mom would let him take it out to the nearest planet for a spin.

Turning back to the Gadgetron help desk device on his left wrist he pressed the button to see what it would tell him this time. While he did have the mechanical aptitude of all lombaxes, Ratchet was still young and needed a little help with some parts of ship construction. Most lombax children usually didn't build their first ship and entirely from scratch to boot. Not to mention that it reassured customers that felt uneasy about having a child fix their ship or appliances. A pleasant and cultured female voice merely had this to say "Final step: attach robotic ignition system. Thank you for using Gadgetron helpdesk technology client number 91802." At those words the lombax groaned as he just realized he might have to live with that nickname for the rest of his life. Robotic ignition systems weren't just something a lombax could just pick up off the road side. Ratchet slapped his palm into his face as he tried to come up with some sort of substitution that wouldn't blow up on him.

For the moment however, Ratchet's mind drew up blanks. Every other option that he could had tried such as a Bucky Combustion Drive or a even in the worse case hacking a busted up superluminal modulator required more room in the ship than he had according to the plans he referenced from Gadgetron. Shaking his head and gripping his Omni-wrench tighter he went to adjust his yet unfinished ship further, there had to be something to free up the needed space. And so Ratchet continued working on his ship, not knowing that the universe loving its punchlines would be making sure that a certain windup to its best joke was approaching. After all the more things changed, the more things stayed the same. In this case a certain space ship above him holding a fugitive robot finally shot down by the two other robots chasing him and his ship went spiraling towards a crash landing miraculously near the Kyzil Plateau.


	5. Chapter 4:A Fated Meeting

Ratchet looked over his ship once more, brow bent as he looked for somewhere, anywhere that could spare even a microcubit of space. But he just let his arms fall. After all this time, in spite of all those hours spent scavenging for parts, and even having the Gadgetron help desk's assistance, he couldn't get his ship to fly. Wiping some sweat that trickled down from the pilot cap Pa gave him, he thought about what the Gadgetron help desk told him.

The missing piece, the robotic ignition system, wasn't just something that he could find easily. Sure he could probably ask around the lombax embassy or even in the city for a robot with that part, maybe even order it from Gadgetron if he was really desperate and had bolts to spare. However that meant he wouldn't be able to win that bet against Uncle Petrov. Ratchet was supposed to build his entire first ship from scratch in the terms and if he didn't he'll never be able to complain about being called Tiny ever again! Sure, he might be shorter than the average lombax kit at his age but reallym he'll get his growth spurt in, one of these days, there wasn't any need to keep calling him **that**. _So now what am I supposed to do?_ Ratchet thought. He guessed that he could just keeping on looking through the scrap yards of Veldin, hoping that maybe there'll be a discarded robotic ignition system somewhere. However robotic ignition systems didn't just drop out of the sky.

Ratchet's large striped ears flickered and his eyes were drawn up to the orange Veldin sky. Then something broke the serene view of the moon and clouds gently lit by the sun, a ship streaking a trail of smoke behind it and one could almost mistake it for a shooting star. It wasn't often that ships crash landed down into Veldin airspace. With a giant explosion, the lombax could see that the ship landed farther within the Kyzil Plateau. He peered around one of the thorn-trees that the lombaxes transplanted onto the planet, with permission of course, making sure to avoid being stabbed by the surprisingly sharp but bright red flexible points. There might have been somebody or something in the wreckage he thought, while small fires continued to smolder showing up as bright yellow, red and orange flecks in the distance. It would take a while for the authorities or any of the Lombax Embassy Security forces to respond. Ratchet tilted his head several inches, his forehead wrinkled as he judged if it would be worth it to go over there and investigate. Lombax nature won out and he decided to go over and see what he could do to help.

He dashed inside his garage, clear of any current work projects and went looking for the one weapon he was given to defend himself. While the lombaxes were away from Fastoon and the Polaris galaxy, they had to resort to Gadgetron weaponry for the sake of easily and quickly restockable ammunition. However on Veldin, it was mostly peaceful so extremely heavy weaponry, his Ma and Pa thought, wasn't exactly needed by Ratchet. Tossing aside on the tables some boxes stuffed with spare parts, discarded blueprints and ideas, some cheap hold-vids and a half forgotten Ace Hardlight action figure, he found his Gadgetron bomb glove rather quickly. The lombax did let out a small huff when he discovered he actually left it just near the giant poster of Captain Qwark he had up on the wall. He had just passed by one of the many large rotund water condensing towers on Veldin when he ran into one of the pest problems on this small sleepy planet. It was late morning, the time when the Horny Toads were on the hunt. The orange, bad tempered, white spiked amphibians were quite the pest on Veldin especially the way they got into the water supplies. Getting rid of some of the population was something that Ratchet didn't mind doing. If they were left to breed out of control, it'll end up with either a drafting for an open season on Horny Toads for the natives or one of the Lombax Embassy Security being assigned a clean up as punishment duty. They weren't too much of a threat alone, so as they approached he just took a good smack to their face with the business end of his wrench and sent them flying away. He did keep an eye out to avoid being ambushed, as a group of them could take even the best fighters down quickly.

Ratchet made his way over the arched white bridge that led towards the crash site, his foot steps taking on a metallic tone due to the large white metal planks bolted into the dull frame. He kept his eyes off the large abyss that the bridge hung over like always. Standing above large heights did something to his stomach and head, and the feeling of being off-balance in relation to some sort of missing weight behind his back didn't help any. When hover-booting, boarding, or even when on an off planet flight with his dad, Ratchet could deal with heights. He just didn't know why he had these unsettling feelings any other time besides those. Passing by several more moisture condensers that constantly operated to supply the most needed resource in this desert climate, he found himself needing to take a deep breath and some choice words after seeing, likely because of the crash, that a rock slide tore down some of the road. The sight of some low foliage, leaves green or dark purplish red and thin for water retention on the cliffs had Ratchet guess what was left of the road should hold his weight. Leaping over the stone ledges next to the red brown cliffs, he swung down upon the heads of more horny toads hopping around noting that this would play hell on how many people would come to his shop for repairs. As he continued to clear out the attacking horny toads, never had he been so thankful he had this wrench. Held these five years ever since that strange eighth birthday. Some stranger had let him have it after helping find it that day when Ratchet was practicing with those new hover-boots his dad gave him. When the then eight year old came back with the large tool, his dad took it away from him even as he complained that it was his now. Pa did give it back to Ratchet after a few days of making sure there was nothing funny about the wrench, something that Ratchet at the time didn't appreciate but understood when he was older. Still it did make for something to think about some nights, that this particular wrench fit so snugly in his grip and that he was aware of just about every little quirk it had such as the need for adjustment for 9 and three quarts microcubit bolts. The fact that it was a very handy tool for his business was a nice bonus as well.

The path split off onto an outcropping where one could much of the Kyzil Plateau below. There, Ratchet could see the crash site much more clearly, the small smoldering flames, the earth cracked and bent from the impact, and pillars of white smoke reached lazily towards the sky. But even so there didn't seem to be anybody except for him investigating the crash and that was very odd. While he had been making a quick pace, surely some sign of people coming to see the crash would have been around by now. Turning around, he made his way back on the main path and the arc of a former eight rocket booster towered over his head. Veldin for being such a small and out of the way place, had quite the share of junked and trashed machinery and technology deposited here. With so little in the way of actual natural resources, those who lived on this planet made sure to use every little piece of scrap that they could get their hands on. Of course that was a method that a lombax could get behind, simply because one could make so many interesting things with what people considered junk.

He made his way through the large tunnel made from the rib cage of some long ago vanished Veldin species. The rough and rocky cliff side often had several landslides in the past and the bones served as a useful shield against any falling rocks into the tunnel. As the lombax felt the desert air quietly ruffle his fur through the ribs of the skeleton, a sudden charge and smell of something like ozone sent his reflexes jumpstarting. The sudden crackle of something flying straight at him, sent Ratchet diving to the side feeling the smooth ground packed with countless roll over his side. He righted himself and what was in front of the lombax was a robot with a plasma whip.

Except that this model wasn't familiar to the lombax, hovering in the air with an electrostatic thruster. While Fastoon had supplied the outpost here with some robotic security reinforcements, they certainly wouldn't have used such a primitive plasma whip. Then again, Ratchet was only, what did they call it again? A civilian attachment to one of the scientific and research personnel, or in Ratchet's head, some scientist's kid. How was he to know what upgrading the security forces were up to? Then again judging from the slipshod armoring, and the cheap joints that no lombax would ever be caught dead doing kind of spoke against any lombax hand in this robot. His eyes widened as the sharp smell of charged electrons came to Ratchet's face yet again.

He back-flipped out of the way with reflexes driven by hours spent in combat practices and not to mention hover sports. Now he was sure that this robot wasn't one of theirs. Any one of the security robots on the planet were supposed to be programmed not to use lethal force against the Veldin populace or any of the lombaxes. The robot quickly swung its whip back and lashed out, playing a maniacal laugh clip from some sort of speaker within it. Ratchet rolled his eyes, really? Somebody actually spent bolts to put in a cheesy voice clip? Moving in, Ratchet pulled out his Gadgetron Bomb Glove. With a finger, the button in palm was pressed, materializing a small round blue explosive. Giving the bomb a good light hefty toss in his hand, he hurled it towards his assailant. Though this particular model didn't have expressional features, Ratchet was quite sure that if it had an actual face it would be wide with shock as the bomb triggered. A small explosion tore the machine apart head first, scattering it into a tiny group of bolts and other mechanical parts.

Ratchet's eyes narrowed as he made his way closer where he thought the crashed ship had landed. Who was it that brought this robot armed with lethal force here? Did that mean whoever crashed out on the plain was somebody dangerous? But then again, it looked like that they were being chased by somebody up to no good. Attacking innocent people who had nothing to do with whoever was being chased straight out with lethal weaponry never was in the good guys' playbook. Of course the maniacal laugh chip had nothing to do with it. His ears swiveled back as a grating crackle of electricity entered his hearing. At the end of the tunnel, the pathway was filled with nothing but these hostile robots. They were however being assaulted by a most surprising ally for the lombax. Horny Toads, the orange little pests were chasing around the droids, many zapped and sent flying back by the charged whips. Yet they still hopped on, landing upon cheap metal better suited to be melted down and tearing into it with vicious sharp pointy teeth. The carnage continued but the only one to profit from it would a be Ratchet.

Clicking the button in his palm, Ratchet threw his thirteen year old body into the fray. While the path was clogged up with a miniature war between the webbed and the electrical powered, none of the sides were paying much attention to the single lombax. Still he needed a clear path to the crash site so some tricks his uncles showed him came in quite handy here. The Bomb Glove, being one of the most popular weapons in Gadgetron to the point where they were given free at the discretion of the vendor, had a firing rate of two bombs per second. Most people just straight out threw one after another at their target of aggression which actually worked for a majority of Gadgetron customers. What Ratchet did was use his firing rate to further advantage. Throwing bombs further by hitting them with other bombs in mid-air. Letting the explosion knock robots and toads alike into the air where another bomb's detonation sent them flying into the wall, off a cliff or into each other.

Soon Ratchet left nothing behind in his path except for piles of smoking metal plates and the dissipating remains of orange toads. Sure he had one or two scratches from being mobbed by Horny Toads before sending him flying with his wrench but some loose crates of nano-tech soon closed up those wounds. Then before him was the cracked and twisted crater that held the wreckage of the shot down ship. There wasn't any body lying around there and the smell on the wind was just filled with oil and a faint charge that tickled his nose. It didn't seem like there were any survivors of the crash but just because he didn't find anything didn't mean that somebody wasn't there. Then again he could be wrong.

When circling around the ruins of what probably was once a serviceable ship, he then spotted a robot unit down on the ground within the crater. Ratchet came closer, wrench and bomb glove stowed away. The robot on the ground was small, limbs retracted for what was possibly its safe-mode to re-boot from the crash. It didn't seem like something that would pop up and suddenly attack though appearances were always deceiving and Ratchet himself was prime proof of that. The lombax picked up the robot turning it from side to side, the tin can for all the small amount of soot and scratches that covered it seemed actually pretty new and built to respectable quality. Giving it a little shake, the lombax didn't hear anything that seemed disconnected or broken inside. His ears swayed back and forth as his gaze didn't spot anybody trying to claim the little guy for good or bad. But still a robot in the middle of this nowhere? Even though it was a very nice nowhere where Uncle Cog and Auntie Millie lived, for a teenage lombax there wasn't much. It was something new and somehow this tin can felt right in his hands. So Ratchet took the robot with him back to his garage making his way from the wreckage over the pieces of his former foes.

Back at Ratchet's garage the lombax youth was tinkering with his scrap-yard ship. Whistling a tuneless song, still adjusting the bolts and parts on the ship with his Omni-wrench 8000. He had put the robot against a natural ledge on the ground, while he intended to see if the tin can needed repairing, he wanted to fiddle with his ship just a few more minutes. Unknown to him the robot taken from the wreck rebooted and witnessed yet again the world but now oddly different. Where he was... 'born' was an enclosed space, with stifling air and dim lighting and somehow going all his logic circuits rather sinister as well. Though there was some sort of ache, like a missing sister board within him when he had to leave in the face of that large sentry bot. Here however there was open sky, a breeze that according to his thermal sensors was within the temperature range enjoyed by the statistical norm for organic life forms. The light entering his optics was... pleasant and when the robot looked up his vision was filled with the back of a yellow furred hominoid. The began to walk up to the organic life form working on some sort of space faring vessel. His green eyes glowing, the robot took in all the characteristics of this life form and the robot's preinstalled memory banks began cataloguing through the data, wondering what sort of species was before him.

Yellow fur with stripes, large ears suited for heat dissipation in bright sun, hints of eyebrows thick and thus providing excellent against sand and glare, large feet good at distribution of weight when walking on unstable ground, lithe body type good for mobility and dexterity, and a long tail that supplied an extra center for balance with a big fluff of a tail tuft. From the observation that this male organic needed a crate to reach the ship that he was working on, the robot concluded this organic must be a child. Such mechanical aptitude at a young age brought up a match in his database, a lombax. Yet this conclusion seemed illogical the very moment it came up. According to the data, lombaxes were native to the Polaris Galaxy and the robot was sure within statistical reason that he was still in the Solana Galaxy. So why was a lombax here? The question ran through his sisterboards until the sound of the movement of the bolts and gears being turned by what seemed to be an omni-wrench entered his audio receptors. "Interesting." The robot said.

The robot observed the (tentative) lombax as he jumped up into the air, screaming a "YAIEE!" and the organic life form dropped onto the ground sending plumes of dust wafting around his body. The mechanical life form with a Zoni then went on as if suddenly dropping down into the dirt wasn't something unusual. "You're quite handy with your wrench" The robot said.

The lombax, the robot confirmed with a clear frontal view, slowly got back up and dusted the dirt off his jeans."You bet, I built that ship with it" Ratchet gestured towards the said vessel built with scraps and junk but held together with hope, prayers, rubber bands, scavenged bolts and the odd patch of sealant. To the robot however, it was an opportunity towards his self appointed mission. "Hmmm... currently I am in search of someone who could be of assistance of saving the Solar System." The robot said in cultured tones for one who was only off the assembly line for a few hours. His optics picked up a poster within the lombax's adobe. A huge man dressed in green material with a large smile on his face. Large, powerfully built, and placed within a prominent place within a young male's home. That man had the qualities attributed to a hero, somebody that could help with the robot's dilemma. "Do you know where I'll find that fellow?" the robot pointed to the man on the poster.

Some sort of expression that the robot couldn't understand changed on the lombax child's face. Ears loosely perked up, one green eye half closed while on the opposite side an eyebrow raised. "Well, he's on the radio every week. Other than that, no." Then those green organic eyes were focused directly at the lens of the robot's mechanical ones "Hey, what's with all this save the Solar System stuff anyway?" _Strange,_ the robot thought, _his tone and pitch just changed..._

Pulling open the door to an internal compartment, an info bot came out of the small robot. Mouth expanding into a wide vid-screen, the horrible plan of the leader of the Blargs was revealed. Those foul aliens would be pulling apart a serene blue planet for construction of a new one for the Blarg, dooming the natives to a horrible death by sun. And at the end of the video that Chairman Drek showed how he truly cared nothing for the natives of Novalis being targeted. "The people on that planet are hosed." Ratchet said, and the robot noticed that the lombax's teeth and hands were clenched, with the body temperature and pulse rate rising. "Well, good luck getting Captain Qwark to help you. My folks might want to do something but I don't think they can take on an entire race at the moment." It would be true that the lombaxes wouldn't stand for Chairman Drek's plan but currently the embassy wasn't handled for engaging in a full scale war and who knew how many innocent people would get hurt before politics and distance could get some sort of effort up and running?

"Actually, you could help me." The robot said. "If you could use your ship to take me to the co-ordinates contained in this infobot, I might be able to gather further information there." It was a simple solution to the robot and it seemed like this lombax child would be willing to take him to the planet. But the lombax slumped and "I would like to but I can't" When the robot began to speak again, it seemed that the lombax thought the robot had the wrong idea since the organic began waving his hands in front of his chest side to side. "It just that I'm missing a crucial component to the ship."

The robot turned to the ship in question and his eyes narrowed, as the small antenna atop his head glowed gently red several times. The ship the lombax said he had built was quite fascinating in its ingenious use of re-cobbled parts, some that were mainly used in appliances, refurbished for the purpose of space travel. There was one thing missing, the robot's scanners detected, something that couldn't be easily substituted. "The robotic ignition system!" The robot said.

"Hey how did you know that?" The lombax asked, one eye narrowing at the robot's easy discovery of the lombax's problem with his ship.

"I sir am fitted with the latest in robotic ignition systems" The robot said gesturing to his chassis "My programming allows me to start any ship I choose."

"So I agree to take you to this... Novalis place... and you get this ship started for me?" The lombax said "would, would you mind after finding Captain Qwark, keeping my ship running? Until I can find a working replacement, I don't want my Ma coming after me if I get stranded on another planet."

"That is what I'm proposing, Sir" the robot said "and, afterwards letting Captain Qwark know of this nefarious plot, I do believe that I can keep your ship running afterwards, well until you find some sort of substitute, if you wish." And somewhere, somehow a certain genius super-villainous robot squishy hater started belting out another episode of Lance and Janice. But more pressing and relevant to the robot and lombax on planet Veldin was the two ships that came landing in front of Ratchet's garage. From the stiffening of the robot's limbs, Ratchet could tell the robots piloting the ships were bad news. "Deal!" Ratchet said, grabbing the robot by the arm and jumping off the crate into his ship. The small robot triggered the thrusters and the duo flew out of there, leaving two confused Blarg robots behind and the two to begin their adventure towards the planet Novalis.

Above the planet Veldin's orbit,Chairman Drek watched a hob-cobbled ship leave Veldin's airspace. "This could be a problem." While it was doubtful anyone within the galaxy had the power to resist the planet theft Blarg Industries was engaging in, the element of surprise was necessary to maintain a sizable profit margin. The Blarg politician and corporation owner turned to a large shadow behind him and waved back to it. "Take care of it for me" At the sensation of tensing and the hint of a growl Drek retorted "or you'll know what planet I'll target next..." Drek smirked as the shadow left without a word. It was annoying to have that giant buffoon reject his sponsorship offer, trying to negotiate like he had any power at all. A little background check gave Chairman Drek the advantage he needed to bring that fool to heel. With the hope of Solana in his pocket, and everything moving on schedule, Drek let himself have a giant maniacal laugh. Everything was going according plan, nothing was going to stop him now!


	6. Chapter 5: Down the Sewage Pipe

Above the sandy yellow brown planet, a lone ship flew out into the void of space leaving behind the desert plains, plateaus and the hidden secret tropical islands within the oceans behind. Two green eyes on a golden yellow furred face watched as Veldin receded into the distance. "Whoa, this is great! So that's where I've been stuck this whole time..." Ratchet said and his voice dropped in volume, whispering just to himself. "Really looks a lot different from your own ship" Veldin had been his home for almost five years. His parents were there, and Aunt Milly and Uncle Cog, and some of the other lombaxes at the embassy. Just about everyone he knew in the Solana Galaxy were on that one small ball of sand, dirt, rocks and ocean. It was, a little scary taking his first trip out into space alone. Not to mention what Ma would do to him once she caught him.

"Please return your appendages to the steering mechanism, sir." The robot said. Sitting next to the lombax was Ratchet's only companion on this unexpected trip. The lombax glanced back to the small tin can that he had rescued back on Kyzil Plateau raising his hand and though the lombax didn't have any practice telling the difference between robotic expressions, he guessed that the robot had something close to worry..

"Oh right" The young lombax said and let out a strained laugh. His shoulders hunched over and he had a smile with an angle off enough to make the robot cover one optic partially in confusion due to the robot's current inexperience with organic lifeforms. "Heh. Sorry. First time doing this alone." Ratchet kept his hands on the steering bar but still turned his head to look at the robot. "Oh, and by the way, you can stop calling me sir. The name's Ratchet. Ratchet Nova" Ratchet said.

The robot merely said "Pleased to make your acquaintance, sir."

Ratchet couldn't prove it but he felt like the robot was just messing with him, especially with that strangely organic emphasis on that last word. "So what are you called anyway? You got a name?" The lombax wouldn't let this get to him, after all he was flying in his very own ship, that he built almost entirely out of scrap parts.

"My serial number is B54296-" The robot began but then the ship lurched to the left and Ratchet pulled up to stabilize their path.

"Woops" Ratchet said perhaps syncing the quantum gyroscope to the ion thrusters wasn't a good idea. A comforting sound of metals bouncing against each other reached his ears, Ratchet turned and saw that the robot had bumped into the door of the ship. Swung into there by the momentum transfer within the cockpit. That gave the lombax an idea and somehow once he said it, he knew that would be the best thing to call this robot. "How about I call you Clank for now?"

The robot had his head tilted, blinking several times with his red antenna softly pulsing with light. _Eh_ Ratchet thought _when did I think this robot's a guy? I mean sure his voice sounds like a guy but who knows how robots figure these things out._ The robot's voice brought Ratchet out of his musings. "The name Clank seems agreeable."

Just then an orb of deep clear blue dotted with green landmasses like that mossy plant he cataloged once for a homework assignment came up to the front window. "There it is!" Ratchet floored the accelerator just in case they were still being chased. "Hang on" he said, preparing for a landing.

Novalis, a pristine planet that while technologically advanced had maintained the natural world quite well. In a certain crater there lay below green verdant fields, buildings topped with curved domes, a clear blue river making its way through a city and unblemished mountains in distance. There was the little issue of a lack of forests but in urban developments that usually was expected. Of course all this was marred by the rather large amount of explosions that were being dropped down above the city and the invading forces blasting everything to bits on the ground. Not that Ratchet could tell any of this, what with his ship lurching and its current flight path taking place right into that cliff!

Grabbing Clank from the nearby seat, Ratchet quickly popped the window open and jumped out with a scream. Out of the corner of his vision, he saw his ship crashing into the cliff face sending out a shock wave of heat and flame. _Damn I'll never win that bet with Uncle Petrov now._ It was a petty thought to think when you're likely falling to your death. But hey when you're in a deadly situation the mind doesn't tend to be all that logical. The air whistling past his ears as he was tossed around by the shockwaves. The blue sky above him was the last thing he saw before a sudden pain to his back caused him to black out.

_It felt warm, and it was soft beneath him, there seemed to be a very nice smell. What was it?_ It was dark but there wasn't as much fear as Ratchet expected. What he was feeling was strange, he couldn't remember what he was doing before he found himself in this blackness. It wasn't easy to move but it felt comfortable here and it felt right not to move. Then there was that smell, faint like it was coming through a clogged nose but appetizing, a hint of something creamy and a faint edge of some sort of meat as well. Was he home and it was time for dinner or something? It felt hard to move though and there was some sort of ache in his body now that he was trying to get some sort of control over his body. Then there was a grip on his hand. Tight, but the pressure coming gently like a child clinging to someone beloved. _And someone was calling his name_, the lombax thought._ Who was it?_

"Ratchet, ratchet, are you alright, please wake up." Ratchet stirred, his head tossing side to side. The darkness fading into piercing light, revealing the world coming back into focus. Bits and pieces began to gather back into his emptied out head. It came back to him, finding a robot, going to find Captain Qwark to save the solar system, leaving home in his own ship, and then crashing it into a cliff. It was then that a single thought pierced through the lombax's mental haze.

"Uhm... Clank... Clank, where are you?" Ratchet said, his surroundings gaining color next but definition still hadn't returned. Another voice cut through the slight twisting of his gut.

"I'm right here, Ratchet." Clank's green optics came into the lombax's vision as the blue sky above the robot is marred by another fighter jet dropping its payload of missiles. There was yet another explosion in the distance but that didn't really register to the lombax focusing on the robot's words. "Are you alright, you fell unconscious when you landed." The robot's head tilted and the orb above his head began changing the intensity of its glow. "The impact may have damaged your structural integrity, will you be able to walk?"

"Yeah," Ratchet said slowly pulling his body off the ground. Sure he still ached in some places but nano-tech worked wonders. It was the fact that he was running low now that worried him. Ratchet would need to look for a supply crate, usually left around for people in an emergency on just about every planet. There was something else more important that had his attention though. The lombax looked up at the smoldering wreck above him, tinged with the bitter scent of loss and engine oil. "Well, we're not leaving the way we came in."

"Perhaps we could procure a ship from one of the inhabitants." Clank said.

Ratchet looked over all the destruction occurring in the city spread out below, fires burning furiously among the rubble of buildings blown apart. There were several soldiers belonging possibly to what amounted to the army around here. On the other side however were several robots and Blarg soldiers and sadly it looked like the Novalians were getting creamed. "Yeah if there are any left " Ratchet said, wincing at the sight of a soldier, a blue skinned man looking several decades his senior get mowed down by Blarg fire and disintegrating into sparkles of dust. Unease rolled around in his stomach and his found himself pulling out his wrench and bomb glove without thinking. Realizing this, he put them away for now, better find some nano-tech first.

The lombax began to walk and heard the sound of metal footsteps getting farther away from him. Looking back, Ratchet saw a problem. Clank wasn't exactly built for moving quickly over long distances, short legs after all. The lombax's ears dropped down as he remembered all the times walking somewhere took much longer than normal when he was younger. While he still hadn't had his growth spurt yet, at least he could walk and run at a reasonable pace. But if they were going to make their way across a war torn battle field, Clank was going to be put into danger if the robot couldn't get out of the way fast enough. While the robot closed the distance between them, Ratchet had an idea.

Once Clank had come to his feet and opened his mouth, possibly to ask why the lombax had stopped moving, Ratchet grabbed the robot's outstretched hand. Did he always had to have his finger up when asking questions? Well the lombax pulled Clank up and swung the robot over his shoulder. Clank's back had a bolt latch, something the lombax had noticed during the looking over he did when he first found the unconscious robot back on Veldin. The back of his chest harness also had a bolt latch, perfect for holding a bag of the more bulky tools when he went out on house calls. As the weight of Clank settled against Ratchet's. the lombax somehow felt that all was right in the world. Sure his ship had blown up, he'd landed in the middle of what seemed to be an invasion, he only had a wrench and a bomb glove, and if he managed to survive all this, he'd be sure to be killed by Ma. But hey, somehow having Clank on his back made him feel better than ever, weird. Wrench in hand he made to go on a yellow elevator platform he spotted when something moving caught his eye. Holding his tool before him, ready to bring it down on the head of whoever it was but he stopped in his tracks.

Ratchet's ears drooped as he realized he had just pulled out his wrench against a Gadgetron Weapons Vendor. When Clank asked what was the matter, the lombax let out a short laugh that had no humor in it, not that the newly manufactured robot could tell. "Nothing, Might as well see if Gadgetron has anything useful while we're at it." The lombax approached the glowing blue cube that then opened up into a viewscreen and teleporter set. The green lizard aliens that always seemed to easily get careers at Gadgetron, too easily it was whispered, appeared on the screen. "Hey there fuzzball, we've got some great news for you. Here take a look at this."

"Congratulations Gadgetron Customer # 24602" On the screen suddenly appeared a paper cutout like cartoon of Ratchet cheerfully jumping with a goofy smile flashing on his face when up in the air. "Your account has just had its time sensitive membership upgrade activated." A selection of Gadgetron products popped up on the screen. "Now whenever Gadgetron comes out with its latest array of the finest weaponry, you will receive it free of charge!" Cartoon Ratchet was surrounded by bunches of weapons spinning around him. "So kick back and enjoy receiving the latest in enemy annihilation. Thank you for buying Gadgetron" The video said as the Gadgetron logo crashed down. Before the screen cut to black a sped up voice clip ran, stating that the upgrade was in regard for weapons only and regular ammunition costs apply.

Ratchet blinked as a weapon was teleported into his hands. A little flamethrower called the Pyrocitor was given to Ratchet with a congratulations from the vendor. The lombax looked in awe at the wide barrel, the tubing connected to the fuel tank. A bit bulky though and it required the lombax to hold it in both of his hands. He then hoisted it up high letting a small laugh, well he wasn't sure just what happened but hey free weapons!

Now that he had something of an arsenal, now he could actually do something. Ratchet instead of using the elevator platform jumped off of the cliff. The wind rushing through his fur, unheard was the question and then the sudden cry of shock from the robot behind Ratchet as the duo fell. But this time Ratchet was ready, and he landed on his feet crouching down and bouncing back up with no harm to himself. Except for the sudden spasms that came soon after. Great, he forgot that he needed some more nano-tech!

Ignoring Clank's complaining that the lombax was being too reckless by jumping, Ratchet scanned the area. Not good cause there were bird like yellow war bots that noticed him and they were coming their way. Behind them however, were some nano-tech crates! Well time to test out that new Pycocitor then. Ratchet pulled out the weapon from where he holstered it to his pants. Now that he thought about it, if he was going to get a whole bunch of weapons for free, how was he going to carry them all? He was probably going to wish later on that he had one of those Transdimensional-armories or Trans-Arms for short. Some people liked to call them "Manifestors." But it didn't matter at the moment.

With Pyrocitor in hand, Ratchet pulled the trigger and a beautifully hot plume of fire came streaming out of the barrel. It snaked its way through the hordes of mechanical yellow avian shaped robots. The sudden rise in temperature frying their circuits and popping junctions and connections. The parts of these war bots littered the area, quietly burning until leaving behind nothing but charred bits of metal. Once clear, the lombax could finally smash open those crates of nano-tech, the extremely small machines working to knit together fractured bones, torn tissues, and replenish any blood loss all while stimulating the brain into accepting a rather large supply of its own natural pain-killers.

That done, the lombax was able to keep moving, going into the city itself. Not that there was much to find. Destruction littered the streets, and there was no one around. The silence, made the lombax's fur tense which was an odd fact noted by Clank with his oddly strong tactile sensors. They both reached a bridge that spanned the river cutting the city into two. The lombax took one step and just then a series of explosions sent him tumbling back, much to the protest of Clank who had his face thrown to the ground.

Ratchet on the other hand saw there Blarg soldiers, touching down from jet packs. A jet plane soared above, the likely reason for why parts of the bridge were now in the river. A blue glove was placed over the lombax's hand and a bomb appeared shortly after. While the soldiers shot pistol bolts at the lombax, Ratchet's head ached with the sight of the destruction around him and the lack of people, and that old soldier who shouldn't been out there on the battlefield, who shouldn't have died, all those impressions burned and one Blarg soldier had the unpleasant experience of having a bomb suddenly go off in his face.

Small blue orbs came spinning, blasting the soldiers off their feet and into the cold water below. Sadly for the Blarg, all that heavy equipment would drag them down into the depths where they could bother the duo no longer. Along the path they traveled, a lombax and his robot through a more natural area of the city. Less buildings, more greenery and rocks and a perfect view of the river and cliffs. Perhaps this was once a park or just a clearing for people to gather. However the end of the path had the land torn up and all the greenery scattered among the dirt. Then a giant ship landed within the clearing surrounded by an escort of blarg soldiers and bird-bots, both models that could shoot firearms and those that could only use their viciously sharp beak to fight. They all burned into slag and ash under a relentless swirl of flames.

Then the door to the ship opened and collapsing out on the ramp on his cane was a elderly Novalian gentleman, dressed in fine clothing that however was torn and tattered. When he spoke it was a voice ragged with gasps and pauses. Ratchet noted that the man, probably an official had been badly hurt from the retracted posture and the shuddering of intense pain. It just occurred to Ratchet that he let those blarg off too easy. The lombax shook his head at the thought though and listened to the man who introduced himself fearfully as the mayor. "Don't hurt me! Don't hurt me! Who are you? Mercenaries? Torturers? Assassins? I'll tell you anything! Here, take my infobot, it's all I got left."

Ratchet looked back to Clank who started speaking, funny how the little robot could seem so alive compared to other robots. Especially with the concerned tone and almost understanding expression created by the parts on Clank's face. "Sir, we're not assass-"

"Hold on, let's see what he's got" The lombax cut in, turning back to the still cowering blue skinned alien. With how the official was acting it wasn't likely that he'll listen to Clank's denial that they would hurt him. An infobot peeked out from behind the Novalian, optics blinking before coming forward and showing the data on its screen. There was Captain Qwark, about to be eaten by a Blargian Snagglebeast! But soon the entire vid switched gears as it was revealed that this was merely a commerical that Captain Qwark was doing for a place in Metropolis called Al's Robo Shop. The info-bot done with the video came floating into Clank's internal compartment where coordinates for the plant Kerwan were uploaded.

Clank who had been puzzled by Ratchet's interruption felt his circuits surge at the info-bot's data. "Do you know what this means?" Clank said, not noticing the pitch of his voice modulator had risen several decibels. They had gotten information on their goal, they were one step closer to finding Captain Qwark and stopping the Blarg. But Clank soon found out that the lombax didn't feel the same way.

"Yeah, Captain Qwark has really sold out." Ratchet said while rolling his eyes. To the lombax it was kind of pathetic. His Uncle Alister, he was considered a real hero by a lot of the lombaxes. He'd never give in to selling stuff on a commercial like Qwark was doing. Though it might have had something to do with how Uncle Alister would more likely blast anybody stupid enough to try to ask. The General was now very careful with where he went, now that the Lombax Defense Ministry had wised up to his constant travel whenever they tried to draft him to fill a council vacancy.

"No, it means Captain Qwark is on Metropolis!" Clank said clenching his fist's at Ratchet's apparent apathy. Of course this did shift the lombax's attention from his own musings. "We could tell him about this invasion..." Clank attempted to draw the conversation back to their mission and Ratchet felt his fur bristle a bit on how just when he thought Clank might be slightly different from most other robots, he'd turn and go back to that near single-minded focus of the mechanical. The lombax didn't know why it annoyed him, after all Clank was still a robot but it just didn't feel right.

"Maybe if we had a ship we could..." Ratchet said. They were still stranded on this planet and so far there weren't any signs of any other ship they could take. Well the ship that was in front of them would been an option, if Ratchet hadn't recognized that is a shuttle that couldn't handle interplanetary travel.

However during the duo's conversation that ignored the third person there, the Novalian elder noted that the duo seemed to want to find Captain Qwark and tell him of this invasion. The chairman of Novalis shivered, not with fear but with rekindled hope. He had shouted at that madman Drek that Captain Qwark would stop this madness but he wasn't sure if he'd ever get the message to the galaxy's hero. He spoke up. "Huh? Uh... a ship?" Once the yellowed furred cat like creature and the small robot turned back to him, he was suddenly reminded of the numorous blows he had received from those cursed robotic commandos and shrunk back. "You mean... you're not gonna torture me?" At the quizzical look from Clank and some disbelief from Ratchet, the elder Novalian straightened up and pulled on the frock of his coat of office at least attempting to uphold respect for his office. "Well, as planetary chairman I could arrange for you to borrow our courier ship!"

"Cool!" Ratchet said as now they could get off this rock, nice as it was considering the explosions, abandoned buildings and general destruction surrounding the place. "You can count on us, sir" Clank said. Ratchet looked back to the robot, a new thought disturbing his brow. _Huh, maybe he wasn't just messing with me calling me sir all the time. _"Yeah, thank you, your chairman shippliness." Ratchet said as he noticed a bridge that would take them back to elevator platform near the cliff.

Clank was pulled back up hang from Ratchet's bolt latch when the Chairman spoke again. "Please tell Captain Qwark of what is happening here. We need his help, there's.. nothing else we can do." The head of Novalis' government trailed off, as he gazed back to the ruined city abandoned and in shambles.

"Do not worry Sir, I am sure Captain Qwark will assist you once he is informed of this." Clank said, assured that the hero would not stand for the blargs' illegal activities. "Yeah" Ratchet said, he on the other hand wasn't so sure about that "right..." The duo moved, leaving the chairman behind to try and gather and organize his people for what was to come. The walk towards where the courtier ship was parked was a short and silent one but then Ratchet noticed, there was another path. It went into the sewers, probably some sort of service pipe. He told Clank that they should check it out and the robot argued against it, for after all they had a lead on Captain Qwark and there was no time to waste. However Ratchet shot back that while they were here, they might as well take out any blarg troops or robots and slow down the damage that was being done. Clank couldn't find much of an argument for that, only giving what seemed like a half-hearted protest that Captain Qwark would put a definite stop to all the blargs' crimes. Still the robot gave in and the two went inside the large sewer pipe.

There were several pumps, acting as elevators to take the two further into what seemed to be one of the sewer facilities. Once they got in, Ratchet could see more of those bird-bots, tearing away at the place and lugging machinery out of there. A quick sweep of the Pyrocitor's flame sent all those enemy robots exploding into spare parts and free bolts to be collected. "Clank, why would the Blarg attack this planet just to take the machinery?" The lombax's sharp hearing heard the small beeping that came from Clank antenna and then Clank's voice followed. "It appears Novalis' sewer system is the best in the galaxy, apparently the blarg wish to avoid the pollution that engulfed their original planet."

Ratchet shook his head, sending the fringes of his pilot cap swinging. "Yeah, like that's going to help." The pathway eventually took them into a giant windowed room. There were planters where large trees towered, and outside was a view of the entire city below. In the distance were gathered groups of Novalians outside the city, several children crying, men looking lost, and women searching desperately for missing loved ones. And yet in the middle of the room was a single worker trying to do some maintenance on a pipe. "Dadblast-it!" he said

Ratchet, ears down from all that he had seen just pointed to the man and said with a rather broken laugh. "Look, Plumber's Crack!"

The plumber turned around and began giving the lombax a look. "What did you just say?" The plumber's tone was not amused and even though there was nothing in the plumber's hands, Ratchet felt very uncomfortable and scratched at his neck. "Er I mean plumber's back..." Ratchet's voice broke off as the plumber continued to stare at him. The lombax noticed that Clank had jumped off his back to look at the situation he was now caught in. Just great.

"Alright wise guy" The plumber said looking straight at the lombax,. Clank noted from his sensors that there wasn't any elevated temperatures coming from the man and the tone according to Clank's analysis had no pressure at all. Interesting, though he hadn't picked up much on organic emotional reactions, something told the robot that the plumber wasn't going along with the distressed signals that Ratchet was sending. It was a tense few moments until the blue faced Novalian broke out into a laugh "Oh cheer up, I've been wanting to do this ever since I first heard that. Now what can I do for ya? Shouldn't you be getting on one of those escape transports?" The plumber said. The plumber pointed with his thumb one of those said shuttles, painted a dull green and loading some citizens back on. When the lombax asked what the plumber meant, the blue collar worker said. "Newsflash, giant robots attacking! The escape transports are taking all the rich folks off this goddarn planet!"

"So why aren't you on one?" Ratchet said, never mind that the plumber assumed he was rich. After all even though the lombax had a steady line of customers that came in wanting repairs for their ships or junk, he didn't make nearly enough to be called rich in any sense of the word.

"Social economic disparity again, you'd think they'd recognize that there's need for plumbing everywhere in the universe." The Plumber complained. Ratchet looked a bit more confused until Clank explained that it was a lack of bolts. At this the plumber spoke again "Working people have to wait for 'Captain Qwark' to save us!" The blue skinned plumber air quoted with a bit of exasperation and that was considered odd for Clank. For why would anyone regard their possible savior with such ill regard as Clank was detecting?

"Well, got anything worth some bolts?" Ratchet said, not really sure if this plumber had anything worth trading for. But still he could at least give the man a chance to try and get to safety.

"Well while I was off doing some pipe work on this desert planet, I met two weirdos stuck on there." The Plumber said. "So after fixing some dang busted up pipes, I helped them get out that rock. Some punk, Skidd I think he called himself got me some dang blasted invitation to some race and one of those doohickeys the kids are all up in arms about."

Ratchet's ears pricked up at what the plumber had in his hands. "A brand new Z-3000! You can't even buy those!" Folded up was an envelope that had an entry form for the hoverboard race in Blackwater city, something Ratchet tuned into whenever he was working in the shop. The lombax's eyes turned big and Clank was struck full in the face by the big pleading green pools of a teenager that wants something bad and just barely gave up on dignity to try and get it. Clank was rather skeptical about making a purchase as it seemed it was slowing down the search for Captain Qwark.

Yet somehow deep in his circuits, Clank couldn't bring himself to say no. "Alright, if you have the bolts, but we're going straight to Metropolis to look for Captain Qwark after this." The lombax nodded and turned to ask for how much when the plumber cut in with something else in his hands.

"And I've picked up this little doohickey as well. Might be helpful getting you into the places you need, don't cha think?" Clank's eyes widened as he realized what the plumber had in his hands was a Gadgetron Trespasser. It could be used to open up Invinco-locks, common security among Blarg territory. Having that device would make stopping the blarg a much more simpler and efficient task.

"Ratchet, you must purchase that Trespasser, it would be an invaluable tool for halting the blarg threat." Clank said. But Ratchet looked back at the gathered bunch of stuff in the Plumber's hands, he found himself turning back to his belt pouch. Would he have enough bolts for all this? Everything in the plumber's hands seemed very expensive. Even though the plumber needed cash now, who knew what sort of price tag the plumber was going to ask for.

"Let's see , while I need some bolts to get on the blasted transport, I'd need a little something to help keep me going once I get there. So how about it, 800 bolts good enough for you?" The plumber said. And Ratchet's jaw dropped along with his wrench. That was actually a bargain for several things you couldn't even buy on the market.

"Uh, yeah sure!" Ratchet said, handing over the bolts. The plumber tossed the duo their new stuff. Ratchet caught the new hoverboard and marveled over the detail and specifications, wondering how fast he could take it. Hoverbooting was awesome but sometimes the lombax wanted to do some tricks while free falling through the air. Clank on the other hand saved the Trespasser from crashing to the floor, it was stored into his chest compartment ready to be used when needed to break into a secured building or door.

"Well thanks, you two take care now. Good luck with find that Captain Qwark and stopping the blarg. Not that you really need it what with all the help you've been getting." The plumber said and with a wave, the Novalian ran over to an open sewer pipe and dove into it. "Geromino!" Echoed from the pipe as the plumber vanished from the duo's sight.

"Did he just slide down a sewer pipe?" Ratchet said, pointing to the exit the Novalian took. "That really happened right?" The lombax looked back to the robot who shrugged, not understanding what was so unusual about the route the plumber took. In any case the lombax replaced the robot back onto his back, the movement becoming slightly easier to Ratchet's surprise. He walked towards the door where they came in but then looked back to the pipe. "Hey Clank, are you waterproof?"

"Certainly, all of my components are certified proof against many environmental conditions and trauma." Clank said, not understanding why the lombax would ask such a question and continuing to delay. At least they started moving again so the robot went further in his explaination. "Water is merely the first item on that list but may I ask what's the relevANCEEEEEE!?" Clank from his posterior view of the suddenly had his internal balance gyroscope lose equilibrium as the illogical lombax followed the plumber and jumped into the large sewer pipe. The ceiling of both the pipe and at times the sewage facility flashed above him as the lombax belly slid all the way down. The lombax and the robot made it back to where the courtier ship was parked with Ratchet dripping slightly from the recycled water. The facility lived up to its reputation and the only smell the lombax had was of his own wet fur, slightly musky with hints of engine oil, sparks, and the spice of the desert air.

"Hey you alright back there?" Ratchet said over his shoulder. After a little shake, he was jogging in place out in the sunlight. Clank complained that the dive down the pipe was completely unnecessary though he was barely wet at all, his entire body held above the water line. "Well it got us down here faster right, let's go check out that courtier ship then." It was rather underwhelming, though Ratchet realized that he shouldn't have expected much in the first place. It was bulky, with mostly rectangles all over its design. It was large with six thrusters in the back but were of an older model more suited for long term cruising rather than speed. A dark and easily cleanable dark green paint job added to its identity as a utilitarian vehicle for transporting goods. But still it was the duo's ticket out of here.

Clank's scanners brought up a rather necessary detail. "It appears that this ship also requires the use of a Robotic Ignition System to start it."

"Well it's lucky you're here then." Ratchet said as he jumped into the pilot's seat. Going through all the necessary pre-flight procedures, the robot started the ship and the lombax took it into the air leaving behind blasted Novalis in a smoky contrail. Looking at their ship taking off from afar, the plumber said to no one in particular. "Take care boys, and give that Drek what's coming to him." The plumber turned away and towards what seemed to be a huge toilet bowl, installed just about a decade ago. It looked like things were finally starting to move and the plumber could leave Novalis behind. It was nice to visit the old place for a while but there were jobs to be done, pipes to unclog, and problems to deal with and all that. _Still those would still be in for the time of their lives,_ he thought. Just one flush and the plumber was gone as well.


End file.
